RIVERSIDE—The Highlanders (6-8-3, 1-4-1 Big West) will head to Cal State Fullerton this Saturday for their final conference game of the season. In doing so, the team will look to find its second win of the conference and gain a bid to the Big West Conference Tournament. A win over the Titans and a loss or tie by CSUN, who visits UC Irvine Saturday night, will result in UCR grabbing the sixth seed.
The Highlanders Through the Numbers
The Highlanders currently sit in last place in the conference with a 1-4-1 record and are currently ranked #86 in the NCAA RPI report. Following last week's games, the Highlanders have the 5th best goals against average in the conference (1.12) and are 4th in shutouts with 4 in 17 games. Also, the team has scored 15 goals in 17 games, with an average of 0.88 per game and has surrendered 20 goals on the season. Despite, a strong offense featuring Roberto Garcia-Vargas, and Hugo Magana the Highlanders have somewhat fizzled out on the offensive end, as they rank last in goals in the conference in goals scored. Nonetheless, the Highlanders are poised for a strong finish to their conference slate and have great potential to sneak back into the postseason with a win against CSUF.
Scouting the Titans
The CSUF Titans (10-6-1, 2-4 Big West) currently sit in 6th place in the conference with 6 points. With those points coming from victories against Sac State and UC Irvine. The Titans have scored 23 goals on the season, good enough for 4th best in the conference. Their offense had been led by junior, Christian Pinzon, who has 6 goals on the season. On the defensive end however, the Titan goal has been manned by senior, Paul-Andre Guerin, who has conceded 22 goals on the season, 13 of those coming in conference matches.
The Series: UC Riverside vs Cal State Fullerton
This matchup is sure to be a thriller, as both teams are vying for a spot in the conference tournament. A win by UC Riverside, could provide just enough to seal the 6th and final spot in the postseason, however a loss would definitively end their tournament hopes. The Highlanders last regular season loss to CSUF came in 2016, and despite a difficult conference performance thus far, UC Riverside is still very much in the tournament conversation. The match will be on Saturday November 2nd at 7 PM.
A Look Back
The 2019 season saw the UC Riverside men's soccer team pick up right where they left off last November. As the Highlanders finished non-conference play with a 5-4-2 record, which included a Top #25 Ranking by Soccer America the week of September 25th. This was the first top 25 ranking for the program since September 2012.
Offensive Outlook
The UC Riverside men's soccer team has found the back of the net 15 times, with 8 different goal scorers. Including 3 goals from junior forward Roberto Garcia-Vargas, sophomore Caio Guazelli and with his goal against Cal Poly on October 12th, Hugo Magana Jr. also has posted 3 goals.
Defensive Dominance
Goalkeeper Edwyn Gutierrez has been between the posts for all competitions in the 2019 campaign and is for 5th in the conference with a Goals Against Average of 1.07 per game, as is 4th in Saves and Shutouts in the conference. Gutierrez also received the conference's Defensive Player of the week award during the week of September 16-22nd, as he tallied a career high in saves with 9.
