Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

Top scoreboard

CAL POLY HUMBOLDT ATHLETICS
Perrier kick

Men's Soccer

Lumberjacks look to keep good play going on the road

ARCATA – California Collegiate Athletic Association play continues this week as the Humboldt State men's soccer team (3-9-2, 2-7-1) travels to the Bay Area for second round matches in home-and-home series against North Division opponents.  A 12:30 p.m. kick off at San Francisco State on Friday starts the weekend.  Then on Sunday, the Jacks will be down the coast in Seaside to face Cal State Monterey Bay in a 2 p.m. start. 

The Jacks earned perhaps the biggest win the program's 39-year history on Friday when they defeated the No. 1 team in the nation, the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles, 3-0.  Josh Suggs scored twice in the first half as HSU ended CSULA's 12-match conference undefeated streak.  On Sunday Humboldt State nearly took CSU Dominguez Hills, the defending national champions, to overtime.  A Toros' goal with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation left the Jacks on the short end of a 2-1 result.   

Head-to-Head
Against San Francisco State, the Lumberjacks hold a 29-23-7 advantage. 
Earlier this season, the Gators took the Sept. 27 match in Arcata 3-0. This rivalry dates back to the fist year of Lumberjacks soccer, in 1971.  The teams played to a 1-1 tie that year and have faced each other at least once each season since.  …Humboldt State's record against CSU Monterey Bay is 3-3-2.   On Sept. 25 the sides played to a 1-1 tie in Redwood Bowl.  Josh Suggs got the equalizer in the 88th minute to send the match into overtime.  The Jacks are looking to split the season series for the second year in a row.  Prior to last year's split each side had swept the season series, CSUMB in 2007 and HSU in 2006.  Their only other meeting was a 2004 match with the Otters traveling to Arcata and leaving with a 2-1 win.

Johnson's Comments
“Friday's win against (Cal State) L.A. was a huge win for us and a confidence builder.  It was great to see us play mistake-free for 90 minutes.  I have seen us play well in spurts, but never for an entire match.  I hope this will be a confidence builder with six games remaining on the schedule.  If we play like we did against L.A and (Cal State) Dominguez Hills we can get some good wins.” … “The first time we faced SFSU and (Cal State) Monterey Bay we were a different team.  We were giving up some soft goals, making mental mistakes and we had a confidence issue.  They saw us in a period where we were just not playing well.  We are a different team now.  Now we have some momentum and confidence knowing that we can play mistake-free soccer.  If we play the way we played the past two weeks, I have a lot more confidence than I did when we faced these teams a few weeks ago.” …If we play well this weekend we could climb over two opponents in the standings and who knows, maybe approach .500 by the end of the year.”

Lumberjack Notes
The Jacks are in sixth place in the CCAA North. …Junior Josh Suggs leads the Jacks' attack with seven goals and one assist for 15 total points.  Four HSU players each have two goals; senior Ben Vasser, junior Scott Mariani, freshman Peter Darquea and Roland Demombynes, who picked up goal number two in the Jacks 2-1 loss to CSUDH on Sunday.  Sophomore Davis Zwick earned his first start in the Lumberjack goal against Cal State Dominguez Hills.  He made six saves while allowing two goals.  In his four appearances he has a 0-1-0 record, a 1.49 goals against average and .727 save percentage …Keeper Kyle Verle is 3-8-2 while playing 1,134 minutes between the pipes.  He has allowed 22 goals, made 50 saves and has a save percentage of .694.  He was in goal for the Jacks win over CSULA and earned his second clean sheet of the season … Among CCAA players Suggs ranks in the top-10 in six categories including second in shots (56), is tied for fifth in goals (7) and seventh in points.  Verle is eighth in saves (50) and ninth in shutouts (2).

Opponents Notes
The San Francisco State Gators (5-6-3, 2-5-3) are in fourth place in the CCAA North and are in a four-match conference winless streak.  Last week they hosted and fell to Cal Poly Pomona 3-2, in overtime on Friday, and 1-0 on Sunday to Cal State San Bernardino. …SFSU's offense is led by Dylan Glass, who has 17 points on five goals and six assists.   Arnol Arceta has added six goals and one assist.  Mike McNeill has seen the majority of the minutes in goal and has a 4-4-1 record along with a save percentage of .796.  Head coach Joe Hunter, in his 13th season, leads the Gators.  His SFSU record is 86-156-12.  …The Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay (3-8-3, 2-7-1) are in fifth place in the CCAA North.  Last week the Otters were at home and lost to CSUBS 3-2 on Friday.  On Sunday they earned a 1-1 tie against Cal Poly Pomona.  …With three goals, one assist and seven points, Andrew Breault leads the Otters' offense in 2009.  Gabe Glass has tallied three goals for six points.  Keeper Brenden Baca has a 3-7-3 record with three shutouts and a .750 save percentage. …CSUMB is led by eighth-year head coach Artie Cairel.
Print Friendly Version