RIVERSIDE, Calif.— The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team is off to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance as last week the Highlanders took home the Big West Championship defeating UC Davis in a penalty kick shootout. UCR will face Pacific in the first round of the tournament Thursday night at 7:00 OM in Fresno, CA at a neutral site due to the current air quality in Stockton, CA.

The two teams met earlier this season in September at Knoles Field with Pacific getting the better of the Highlanders 3-1.

HOW TO WATCH
Thursday's match will be streamed live online through TheW.tv. The link can be found on our schedule page.

BIG WEST CHAMPS
The Highlanders made history last weekend capturing their first ever Big West Tournament Championship, which gave way to their fist ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Highlanders defeated No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton (3-2 in OT) in the semi-finals and No. 5 seed UC Davis (4-2 in penalty kicks) to win the title.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Pacific comes into the postseason on a two-match win streak after topping Gonzaga 1-0 this past Saturday and No. 11 Portland 3-2 a week prior. The Tigers finished the season with an 11-4-2 overall record and finished 2nd in the West Coast Conference at 5-2.

COMEBACK KIDS
UC Riverside survived an 0-7-1 start to the 2018 season as the Highlanders faced a medley of ranked teams and teams that made last year's College Cup to prepare them for the conference season. Seven of the first eight opponents scored three or more goals against the Highlander defense. However, a 2-1 win in overtime against crosstown rival Cal Baptist on Sept. 22 reinvigorated the Highlanders. Since that point, UCR has posted a 7-2-2 record with a miniscule nine goals allowed during that 11-game stretch. The Highlanders have shutout seven of their last 10 opponents.

ALL-CONFERENCE 
Four Highlanders were named to 2018 Big West All-Conference Teams:

Daniel Aguirre, So. MF — 1st Team
Daniel Castaneda, Fr. MF — All Freshman Team
Dusan Keca, Sr. D — Honorable Mention
Roberto Garcia-Vargas, So. F — Honorable Mention

DANIEL DOES IT
Sophomore Daniel Aguirre has been the scoring leader in his 2nd season as a Highlander with a team high six goals, which ranks 6th in the Big West. He tops the Highlanders with 14 points this year so far and added one of PK's in the Big West Championship that lifted UCR over UC Davis.

DUSAN DOING WORK
Senior Dusan Keca stepped up this past weekend in the semi-final round vs. Cal State Fullerton icing the match in the 80th minute to force overtime where the Highlanders would win on a golden goal.

He also helped the Highlanders win the first ever Crosstown Showdown on September 22nd, playing excellent defense and punching in a match-winning penalty kick in the 110th minute.

The defender is 3-for-3 on pk's so far this season.

DON'T STOP BELIEVING
The Highlanders have fared well late in matches as they have scored 10 goals in the 75th minute or later. Four of those goals were knocked in by sophomore midfielder Daniel Aguirre, and three of them have served as golden goal game winners.