ARCATA — The 2009 Humboldt State men's soccer team opens its season with a 4 p.m. kickoff in Redwood Bowl on Saturday against the William Jessup Warriors. The match will also mark the debut of new head coach Christian Johnson.

Johnson, who spent the last five years in the private sector, brings a 31-45-4 career record as a men's head coach in four years (2000-03) at CSU San Bernardino.

After finishing his first season with a 1-18-0 record, he built the program to a 12-8-1 record in 2003.  That team claimed the CCAA's South Division title before bowing 1-0 to Chico State in the conference tournament semifinals.

LiveStats

Live statistics for all HSU men's soccer home games can be accessed at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/msoc while the event is in progress.

Head-to-Head

This will be the first time these two sides have met.

Johnson's Comments:

“I have high expectations going into the season.  This team was .500 last year and I believe that we will improve on that.  I don't make predictions on overall records, but I see a lot of talent on the team and expect to compete every time we take the field.

Lumberjack Notes

The Jacks are coming off an 8-8-4 overall and 3-8-3 CCAA conference record in 2008 … in 2009 HSU hopes to return to winning ways after posting non-winning records in eight of the last 10 years … The top returners are junior midfielder Josh Suggs (5G, 2A, 12 Pts) and Roland Demombynes (4G, 5A, 13 Pts) … In net, sophomore Kyle Verle (3 games, 0.55 GAA) is expected to step up and fill the shoes of departed senior Drew Ryan … The Jacks have a 16-20-3 record in season openers … They are 13-16-1 when they start the season at home.

Warriors Notes

William Jessup is an NAIA school that finished 7-10 overall and 7-7 (5th place) in the CalPac Conference last season … In 2009 they were picked to finish fourth in the pre-season coaches poll … The Warriors are led by first–time head coach Micah Howser.