ARCATA – For the next three weeks, Humboldt State will no longer get the chance to face teams at home as it finishes the remainder of the season on the road. While playing in front of a home crowd always excites the Jacks, the team is looking forward to hitting the road and hopefully breaking the streak of bad luck it has picked up at home.
"We're excited to get out on the road," said head coach CJ Johnson. "My hopes are that we can play as we did for 90+ minutes vs Cal State San Bernardino and 60 minutes against UC San Diego. If we can continue to play feet and move off the ball, opportunities will come much easier."
Originally scheduled as home matches, the California Collegiate Athletic Association switched the games to away games for the Jacks since the original away games were canceled to start the season. Unlike the normal Friday/Sunday game schedule, the Jacks first head to Cal State Monterey Bay to face the Otters on Thursday, Oct. 11, at 12:30 p.m. HSU then travels to Cal State East Bay to take on the Pioneers on Saturday, Oct. 13, kicking off at 12:30 p.m. as well.
Head-to-Head
Humboldt State holds the upper hand in both series against Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. Last year, the Jacks split with the Otters in the series, with each team grabbing a 1-0 win on the road. The split put the all-time series to 7-4-1 in favor of HSU.
Cal State East Bay and Humboldt State drew 2-2 in their first contest of the season at College Creek Field, but the Pioneers claimed a 3-1 victory in front of their home crowd to put the all-time series at 6-3-2, in favor of the Jacks.
Live Stats
Otter Notes
Cal State Monterey Bay enters Thursday's match standing at 6-5 overall. The Otters beat Chico State 1-0, but fell 1-2 in double overtime to No. 8-ranked Cal State Stanislaus to split last weekend. ... CSUMB has been outscored by its opponents 18-to-11, despite out-shooting them 126-to-108, 66-to-54 with shots on goal. A majority of the Otters' goals have come in the second half, but the team has given up a pretty even eight and nine goals in the first and second halves, respectively. ... Andrea Davis leads the team with three goals, two of which have proved to be game-winners, and one assist. Kristen Womack and Regan Porteous follow closely behind with two goals and two assists each. Both of Porteous' goals have been game-winning goals, while Womack only has one game-winner.
Pioneer Notes
Cal State East Bay comes into this week's games with a 4-6-1 overall record. The Pioneers will first face Sonoma State on Thursday, hoping to snap a two-game losing streak it suffered over the weekend. Both Chico State and CSUS beat CSUEB by one goal with the Wildcats claiming a 2-1 victory and the Warriors with a 1-0 win. ... As a team, CSUEB has fired off 150 shots, but has allowed its opponents to get 152 looks at the frame. The Pioneers have been more successful in finding the back of the net, outscoring their opponents 17-to-14, scoring eight goals in both the first and second halves of their games and one goal in overtime. Defensively, the Pioneers concede more goals in the first half, giving up nine goals in the first 45 minutes, compared to five goals in the second half. ... Shianna Falk leads the team in points with 13 points off five goals (two game-winners) and three assists. Kara Yamamoto follows with nine points off two goals and five assists and Eugenie Foote takes third with seven points off three goals and one assist.
Lumberjack Notes
Humboldt State has almost matched the amount of goals it scored last year as it starts the second half of the 2012 season. Last year the Jacks finished with 10 goals, but this year they have found the back of the net eight times and hope to continue producing offensively as they hit the road with a 1-7 overall record. Despite the record, HSU has been right there in almost all of the games against some tough opponents. The Jacks have had to face four nationally-ranked teams and one team that made it to the quarterfinals of last year's National Collegiate Athletic Association Div. II championship tournament. ... A majority of the goals HSU has scored have been in the first half and have given the Jacks the first lead. Humboldt State's opponents, however, have managed to score 10 goals in both the first and second halves, as well as one in overtime to outscore the Jacks 21-to-8. Five of the goals the Jacks have conceded have sprouted from corner kick scenarios as the Jacks have given up 47 corner kicks, 13 alone coming from a 1-4 loss to No. 17-ranked UC San Diego on Sunday. ... Humboldt State hopes to limit the amount of free kicks it gives up on the road after having 103 fouls (with 12 yellow cards) called against the Jacks at College Creek Field, while having 69 calls in their favor. ...
Maddi Null leads the Jacks with three goals, including one game-winner, good for six points.
Colette Behen follows with five points off two goals and an assist.
Lizzie Mitchell rounds out the top three point grabbers with four points off one goal and two assists—both of her assists have led to goals from Null.
Injury Report
"We have had a very difficult stretch against opponents nationally ranked and/or ranked in the Top 5 regionally. Currently, the next stretch of games only involves one match vs a nationally-ranked opponent. ... Depth and Injuries continue to be a problem for us and there certainly is reason for concern. Young players will certainly be called upon the next few weeks—which in the big picture of it all, will certainly prepare them for next season. There is something to be said about 'game experience.' ... CSU Monterey Bay is a difficult place to play at. It's a big, natural field and can be very slow, a big difference from playing on turf here at home. CSUMB is much improved and has had some great wins this season. Their team speed can certainly be the difference. ... CSU East Bay has a few players who have certainly caused us problems in the past few meetings. They are an organized, mentally tough team that can compete for 90 minutes. It will be a tough test for our team, as is every game in the CCAA. ... To be honest, we're hoping to get out of the weekend without injuries. This season has been difficult. You obviously expect injuries in college soccer, but this year has been unlike any before. The amount of injuries to impact players has killed us. Last weekend, we were missing three starting center backs, two of which are lost for the season."
