Four tournaments in four locales outside of the state of California highlight the men's soccer slate for this week as the league's clubs continue their preparations for the upcoming start of conference play.
The four tourneys involve four different Big West schools as Cal State Northridge, UC Davis, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara pack their bags for road trips. The Matadors will be in Dallas, Texas at the Prego Italian Express Invitational hosted by SMU, the Aggies in Albuquerque, N.M., for the Nike/TLC Plumbing and Utilities Invitational hosted by New Mexico, the Highlanders in Las Vegas for the UNLV Rebel Classic hosted by UNLV and the Gauchos in cheese country in Milwaukee, Wis., for the 36th Annual Panther Invitational hosted by Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Outside of tournament action, Cal State Fullerton takes its 3-1-0 mark to Westwood to take on Pac-10 power UCLA Thursday night before hosting its home opener against Saint Mary's Sunday. Cal Poly and UC Irvine will also get a chance to play in front of their home fans as both clubs host two home matches during the upcoming weekend.
NOTEWORTHY
Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg - UCSB
Now in the 11th year at the helm of his alma mater, UC Santa Barbara head coach Tim Vom Steeg is on the verge of a major Big West milestone. With just four more victories, Vom Steeg will be the all-time winningest coach in Big West lore, passing former Fresno State manager Jose Elgorriaga’s total of 126 wins. Vom Steeg is already the career leader in league-only triumphs, coming into 2009 with 59 wins against Big West foes.
'Eaters Go East for Big Win
UC Irvine's 1-0 win over Marquette was a rare win for the Southern California program. UCI beat the Big East team for its first road win over a BCS opponent since a 2-0 victory over DePaul in 2004. Combined with a win over Memphis a year ago in Birmingham, Ala., the victory also marked the first time in program history that UCI has won a non-conference game outside the state of California in back-to-back seasons. The news wasn't all good for the Anteaters over the weekend as a 3-2 loss to the Blue Demons snapped UCI’s 14-match regular season non-conference unbeaten string.
Plenty of Offense in the Big West
The first NCAA rankings of the 2009 season have come about and the Big West ranks among the best offenses in the country. UC Santa Barbara leads of trio of schools in the top 50 of scoring offense at a 2.80 clip, while UC Irvine (1.80) and Cal State Fullerton (1.75) are 47th and 50th, respectively. Individually, UCSB's Michael Nonni rankes 20th in the country with 2.0 points per game (10 pts. in five games), while teammate Martin Hedevag and UC Irvine's Amani Walker are 37th with 1.80 points per outing (9 pts. in five matches). The Conference also has four players in the top 40 in goal scoring in Hedevag (24th - 0.80 per game), Walker (24th, 0.80), UCSB’s David Walker (24th - 0.80) and Cal State Fullerton's Celso Alvarez (36th - 0.75). Finally, Gaucho teammates Nonni and Danny Barrera are 12th in the country with 0.80 assists per game (four assists in five matches).
Doing Just Fine with Ibarra
Coming into the season, the big question mark surrounding the Cal State Northridge program was who would replace record-setting goalkeeper Kevin Guppy. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Ibarra has been a more than capable replacement as he has spearheaded CSUN's 3-1-0 start to ‘09. Ibarra is tied for the league lead in goal against average (0.75), ranks second in save percentage (.857), second in saves (18) and tied for second in shutouts (2). His save percentage also ranks 40th in the NCAA in the first statistical report.
CSF Off to Fast Start
Cal State Fullerton is showing signs of being on the way back as the Titans are off to an impressive 3-1-0 start, the second time in Bob Ammann’s tenure the club has had that record after the season’s first two weeks. As mentioned last week, CSF won on the road against a BCS opponent for the first time since 2001, then followed that up with a pair of impressive wins at the Matador Challenge to tie for the tournament championship. An improved offense led by Celso Alvarez (3 g) has backed the superb play in net by Trevor Whiddon. Whiddon is tied for first in the league in goals against average (0.75) and is tops in save percentage (.870) and saves (20). He also had a Big West single-match high eight saves in a 1-0 loss to Ohio State Sept. 6. The improved Titans will be tested in their next outing as nationally-ranked UCLA welcomes CSF to Drake Stadium Thursday night.
UCR Turns the Tables
You can’t blame Junior Gonzales' UC Riverside club for being frustrated after losing its first three matches by one-goal decisions, but credit the Highlanders for turning it around on another team. In its 2009 home opener last Sunday, UCR downed San Jose State by a 2-1 count. That same Spartans club beat Big West member UC Davis by a 4-1 count on opening day. The Aggies are connected to this match in another way as they are the last team UC Riverside defeated prior to SJSU. That match was October 18, 2009, nine games ago for the Highlanders.
No Cupcakes Here
Cal Poly has struggled to an 0-4 start in 2009, but the Mustangs can't be blamed for a soft schedule. The club has lost to UNLV, Stanford and two nationally-ranked sides in Creighton and California. Combined record of the quartet...9-3-2. Cal Poly will have to combat two more competitive sides in the coming weekend as Sacramento State and San Jose State come calling to Spanos Stadium.
Something About Walker
UC Irvine's Amani Walker and UC Santa Barbara’s David Walker, no relation, have a list of concidences between them. Both have scored four goals this season, have equaled or exceeded their goal output from 2008, play forward for a team that’s currently 4-1-0 and will or have played a game in the city of Milwaukee, Wis., in this season. No word on any Twilight Zone episodes starring the two.
Big West Live to Twitter
The Big West Conference is excited to bring Big West Live to Twitter, a Twitter feed designed to give fans an in-the-stands view of select Big West Events. Bringing near-instantaneous photos, commentary, and updates, Big West Live is the first feed of its kind. Moving beyond the scores and stats, Big West Live delivers the “color” of Big West events.