ARCATA – After dropping a pair of shutout losses last week, the Humboldt State men's soccer team (1-5-2, 1-4-1 CCAA) hopes their home field will be a bit kinder this week.  Friday finds the Jacks hosting the San Francisco State Gators with a 7 p.m. kickoff.  Then on Sunday, the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay will be in Redwood Bowl with 2 p.m. the scheduled start time.

The Jacks closed their first conference road trip last Sunday with a 0-2 loss at Cal State Stanislaus. Two days earlier, on Friday night, Chico State defeated HSU 1-0.

Live Stats
All Lumberjack home soccer matches can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Real time statistics and other information are featured on the game viewer. The feature can be found at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/msoc/.

Head-to-Head
Humboldt State's record against San Francisco State is 30-23-7.   Last year the teams split the season series, with each side winning on the other's field.  The Gators took the match in Redwood Bowl 3-0.  The Jacks returned the favor 2-1 in San Francisco.  Prior to its win in Arcata last year, SFSU had lost six straight matches dating back to 2000 as the visitor in the series.  Long time rivals, the two schools first met in HSU's inaugural season of 1971.  That match ended in a 1-1 tie. … Against Cal State Monterey Bay, the Lumberjacks lead in the all-time series 4-3-2.  Last season the teams played to a 1-1 tie in Arcata and HSU won in Seaside 1-0.  Like SFSU, the Jacks played CSUEB, then know as Cal State Hayward, in its first season, 1971.  The match ended in a 0-0 tie.

Johnson's Comments
“(Keeper)Kyle (Verle) has been the most consistent player we have had all season.  He has been solid and I have been very happy with his play all year.  Friday we played a nationally ranked team and lost 1-0.  We really did not play that well and were in the game the entire time.  In the last minute (Josh) Suggs got in one-v-one against the keeper and didn't finish.  We had great opportunities.  We had breakaways, got behind the defense and didn't put the ball away. Tactically speaking and based on performance, I was very pleased with the first half of Sunday's game.  But in the second half we had some players that literally gave up and were very weak mentally.  They have to realize that a season is only 18 games and you only have four years to play.  You have to suck it up, be strong and play through what ever you are dealing with, the heat, the score, anything.” … “Offensively we're not combining and not connecting in the final third of the field.  There is a tendency to want to play the long through ball and watch Josh (Suggs) or hope Josh runs onto it and scores.  That is not our plan and not what we train for.  Our final pass in the final third of the field has not been to feet.  Crosses and head balls are not our strength.  If the ball is played on the ground and we are making the correct runs, that can be a strength for us and a way to finish the plays.” … “From here on out, no game will be easy.  Until I am convinced that the boys want to play for each other and want to fight through this and play with some urgency it is hard to predict what will happen out there.”

Lumberjack Notes
HSU is 1-5-2 overall and 1-4-1 in CCAA play  - T4th in the North Division. … Senior Josh Suggs leads the Jacks attack with three goals on 31 shots.  His 17 career goals have him in sole possession of eighth place on the program's all-time list. Next up is Lalo Serrano in seventh place with 19 goals. Senior Ray Lind has the team's lone game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over Cal Poly Pomona.  Tim Haden, a senior defender, has the Jacks fifth goal and redshirt freshman Michael Powell has two assists. … Keeper Kyle Verle, who has started seven matches, is 1-4-2 while playing just over 684 minutes.  He has made 25 saves on the 35 shots that have been on frame and his goals against average (gaa) is 1.32.  David Zwick has made one start in goal.  He allowed three goals on four shots in a loss.

Opponents Notes
The San Francisco State Gators (3-4-1, 1-4-1 CCAA – T4th place North Division), last week, split a pair of home matches, a 1-0 win over Cal State East Bay and a 0-2 loss to UC San Diego.  Sasha Chalak (4 g, 1 a, 8 pts, 1 gwg) leads the Gators' offense.  Antonio Ugarte (2 g, 2 a, 6 pts) and Edgar Villagrana (2 g, 4 pts) also contribute.  Michael McNeill, the SFSU keeper with the majority of minutes played, has made 17 saves on 26 shots for a gaa of 1.32.  San Francisco State is led by 14th year head coach Joe Hunter. … Cal State Monterey Bay (0-5-2, 0-4-2 CCAA – 6th place North Division) lost to UC San Diego 0-1 last Friday and tied Cal State East Bay 2-2 on Sunday.  Beau Villanueva (1 g, 1 a, 3 pts) tops the Otters attack.  Sam Campanelli has played every minute in goal.  He has made 37 saves on 54 shots.  His gaa is 2.41 and he has a 0-5-2 record.  Artie Cairel, in his ninth season, leads the Otters.