ARCATA — The Humboldt State men's soccer team opens its 2010 season over the weekend with a pair of games in Washington. On Friday, in Seattle, the Jacks open the year against Seattle Pacific University with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Then on Monday at 2:30 p.m. the side will face Western Washington in Bellingham. The matches will be the only non-conference tilts for the Lumberjacks this season.
Live Stats
Fans can follow the men's action at Seattle Pacific through live stats by logging on to
http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/. There will be no live stats at Western Washington.
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
The Jacks have never defeated the Falcons. SPU holds a 11-0-3 record all-time against Humboldt State. The last meeting between the schools was last season. The teams tied 1-1 in a game in Seattle. … With a 2-1 loss against Western Washington in Bellingham last season, the Jacks overall record against the Vikings fell to 3-13-1. In games at WWU, the Lumberjacks are 2-6-1, but 2-2-0 in the last four meetings at Bellingham.
Head Coach Johnson's Comments
“SPU has brought in six new players and I expect will be a better team than the one we saw last year. It is on the road so it will be a battle for us. We are farther along this year that we were last year at this time and it is an important in-region game so I feel we have a great opportunity to win that game. … Western Washington is a bit of a mystery to us, but if we play as well as we did up there last year I think that's a game we can win. We made a few mental mistakes when we played last year and that was the difference. We will have a couple of days rest between our games as opposed to them, who will be coming off a two-game road trip. It will be their third game in five days. … If the hard work we have put in over the last six months pays off we can leave Washington with two wins.”
Lumberjack Notes
The Jacks have been picked to finish in fourth place in the CCAA North by a preseason poll of conference coaches and are coming off a 6-10-4 overall and 5-8-3 conference record (T-4th place in the CCAA North) in 2009 … HSU started last year 1-7-2 but finished 5-3-2. The highlights of the season were a 3-0 destruction of then unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Cal State Los Angeles in Redwood Bowl and a pair of ties with No. 14 Sonoma State to end the season … The Jacks had nine one-goal decision and went 3-6-0 in those contests … HSU's offense will be led by senior striker
Josh Suggs (9 g, 3 a, 21 pts) - an All-CCAA performer and a 2009 Men's NCAA Division II National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-West Region honoree - and newcomer mid Michael Schmidt, a redshirt transfer out of Forestville, Calif.… On defense, the Jacks back line features three returners. They are led by seniors Tim Haden and Scott Mariani and sophomore Zack Hammond, … In net,
Kyle Verle, who allowed 28 goals on 225 shots-on-goal last season, is the Jacks' top keeper … The Jacks are 17-19-3 in season openers and since 1982 are 3-3-2 when they start the season on the road ... Head Coach Christian Johnson is in his second season leading the Lumberjacks. His record at HSU is 6-10-4.
Record Watch
With 14 career goals Suggs is tied for 10th place on the programs all-time list. He is three tallies from taking the eighth spot on the list. If he has another year like 2009, nine goals and ninth place on the single-season list, he could threaten to become one of the top-five all-time scorers … Steady
Kyle Verle's 1.48 goals against average slots him at fifth all-time for Lumberjack keepers.
Seattle Pacific Notes
The Falcons return nine starters from a team that was 11-5-3 overall and finished in third place in the GNAC with a 4-3-1 record … SPU has been picked to finish second by a poll of conference head coaches …Last year's leading scorer, Mid Tyler Schultz (8 g, 1 a, 17 pts) returns along with GNAC Freshman of the Year, Defender Jon Pearlman … SPU is led by Mark Collins who has amassed a 17-15-6 record in two seasons.
Western Washington Notes
Despite finishing their season with an 8-11-1 overall record the Vikings performed well in the GNAC placing second with a 5-3-0 mark … The Vikings are picked to finish fourth in the GNAC by a poll of its coaches … WWU's attack is led by Mid Kellan Brown who was a 2009 first-team Daktronics and NSCAA West Region all-star. He scored 10 goals and added five assists last season. Oscar Jimenez, a midfielder, was a second-team Daktronics honoree and a fist team All-GNAC performer while tying the team lead in assists (5). Keeper will be the position to watch as the Vikings as Cameron Copps, a first-team All-GNAC performer has graduated … Prior to facing the Jacks the Vikings will play non-conference matches at Chico State (9/2) and Cal State Stanislaus (9/4) … Western Washington is led by Travis Connell who has compiled a 102-98-12 record in 10 years at the Viking helm.
