UC Irvine boasts a 6-0-0 record after three weeks of play

Big West Men’s Soccer Update for Week 3

Week 3 of the Big West Conference men’s soccer season wrapped up with UC Irvine (UCI) continuing its unbeaten/untied streak and Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) keeping the loss column clear. Tournament competition around the conference saw Cal State Northridge participate in the TLC Pumping Heating and Cooling Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, NM, and CS Fullerton play in the UNLV Nike Invitational in Las Vegas, NV.

UCI started the weekend with a tough 3-2 win at Wisconsin in double overtime (one of five double OT games in the conference) on Friday, September 9. They followed this up with a 4-2 trouncing of Illinois-Chicago, the second of two road games for the 6-0-0 Anteaters. This week they again hit the road, traveling to the Southeast against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, September 16, and South Florida on Sunday, September 18. Currently UCI ranks in the Top Ten on the Soccer America, Soccer Times, and NSCAA/Continental Tire Polls (Nos. 10, 9 and 5, respectively). Their No. 5 ranking in the NSCAA poll is the school’s highest ever in men’s soccer, and they have the most wins of any still-undefeated/untied team.

Last week’s number two team, UCSB, defeated visiting West Virginia (previously ranked No. 9) by a 2-0 score, but was unable to break the wall against Villanova in double overtime, settling for a 0-0 tie. The UCSB-Villanova game was one of three scoreless double-OT games on Sunday, September 11, along with the UC Davis-Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly-West Virginia matches. On Friday the Gauchos (4-0-1) will head down the freeway to meet UCLA for their only game of the week. UCSB also sits in Top Ten ranking on every college soccer poll, including the College Soccer News Poll (No. 7).

Moving up into a tie for second with UCSB was Cal State Fullerton, who went 2-0-0 over the weekend in the UNLV Nike Invitational. After knocking off Green Bay 2-1 on Friday, the Titans took on University of San Francisco and came away with a 2-0 victory on Sunday to take the tournament. Their performance was good enough for them to crack the Top 25 in the Soccer America Poll (No. 24), the team’s first return to national rankings since 2003. This week the 4-0-1 Titans travel east to take on American University on Friday and George Mason on Sunday.

In the TLC Pumping Heating and Cooling Lobo Invitational, Cal State Northridge split their games, beating Missouri State 3-0 before losing to No. 24 New Mexico by a 3-1 margin. The Matadors will play a rare Thursday night match against Cal State Bakersfield on September 15 for their only game of the week.

In other games, Cal Poly held Villanova (1-0) and West Virginia (0-0) scoreless over the weekend. UC Davis also played 1-0 and 0-0 matches, defeating Oregon State and tying Cal State Bakersfield, both in double overtime. For the Aggies, the Oregon State game was their second victory of the year over Pac-12 teams. UC Riverside split their games, losing to Loyola Marymount 4-1 and then getting past Saint Mary’s 1-0. Upcoming matches will see Cal Poly visit Syracuse and Akron, UC Davis travel to Northwestern and Northern Illinois, and UC Riverside host UNLV and San Jose State.

In individual honors, UCI continues to dominate the offense with its second Big West Offensive Player of the Week recipient. This week sophomore midfielder/forward Enrique Cardenas, out of Coachella Valley High School, took the award for his three goal-one assist weekend. Cardenas scored two goals in the Anteaters’ 3-2 victory over Wisconsin, then added a goal and an assist against Illinois-Chicago, including the game winning goal. Cardenas is currently tied for the Big West scoring lead with teammate Christian Hernandez, each with five goals. The pair are also tied for fourth in the nation in goals.

Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors went to Cal Poly’s senior goalkeeper Patrick McLain of Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wisc. His 200 scoreless minutes against Villanova and West Virginia were enough to hand him the award for the week. McLain had five saves in the two games and brought his career shutout total to 14. Nationwide, McLain ranks tenth overall with a 0.353 Goals Against Average, having given up only two scores in 510 minutes of play on the season.

Going into the season, UCSB was the team to beat, ranking No. 1 in a poll of conference coaches. The Gauchos received six of the seven first-place votes, with the seventh going to Cal Poly. However, UCI has left no doubt that it is a team to reckon with. Despite being ranked fourth before the season and losing their top seven goal scorers from 2010, the Anteaters are determined to challenge the Gauchos and repeat as Big West regular season champions.

Big West Week 2 Update

The Big West Conference is a nine-member Division I conference that is currently the only athletic conference with all of its members in one state (California). In 2012 the conference will add the University of Hawai’i at Manoa – its first non-California school since 2005 – and Cal State Sacramento. The Big West currently sponsors 15 sports, including men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, and track and field.