Junior Michael Salazar of UC Riverside and Kris Schultz of UC Davis put forth big performances in a successful opening weekend, paving the way to Big West Men’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Salazar Nets First Highlander Hat Trick

In his UC Riverside debut, Michael Salazar (Cayo, Belize/Canyon Springs HS) posted the first hat trick in the program’s Division I history, and notched the Big West Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award.

Salazar, who added an assist in the season-opening 5-1 victory against Pacific, also set the school’s Division I-era record for points in a match with seven (making it a #BIGNIGHT).

The junior forward netted goals in the 22nd, 57th and 64th minutes, with his first score accounting for the game-winner.  In one contest, Salazar equalled the total of UCR’s leading goal scorer from a year ago.  For the match, Salazar took eight shots, and four were on goal.

The Highlanders scored five goals in a match for the first time since September 14, 2012 against North Florida.  Salazar’s seven points was the most by a Big West player since UC Irvine’s Amani Walker had the same amount in 2009 versus Cal State Fullerton.

Others nominated: Chase Minter (Cal Poly); Ryan Gross (UC Davis); Eduardo Calzada (UC Irvine); Ismaila Jome (UC Santa Barbara)

Schultz Makes Triumphant Return

Sidelined by injuries for all of 2013 – and making just his second and third career appearances – UC Davis goalkeeper Kris Schultz (Sacramento, Calif./Natomas HS) turned in two solid performances to earn Big West Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

Schultz assumed netminder chores last weekend at the Bert and Iris Wolstein Classic hosted by Ohio State.  His only previous experience was a start on September 16, 2012 against SMU.  Schultz played all 200 minutes, making seven saves, allowing only one goal and posting a 0.45 goals against average as the Aggies tied the Buckeyes and defeated Canisius.

One of three Aggies to capture all-tournament honors, he collected his first career shutout with a three save effort against Ohio State in a scoreless draw.  He faced a barrage of 21 shots from the OSU offense.

Against the Golden Griffins, Schultz made a career-high four stops, including key stonewalls in the 83rd and 87th minutes to preserve the Aggie 2-1 lead.

Others nominated: Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly); Bryan Breslin (UC Irvine); Ashkan Khosravi (UC Riverside)