Men's Soccer: This Week on the Pitch

Upcoming Men's Soccer Action

The Gaels will play on the road again this week, traveling to Southern California to take on No. 17 UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton. SMC will face No. 17 UC Irvine on Friday, September 18 in the Gaels' first night game of the season, kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. from Anteater Stadium. On Sunday, September 20, the Gaels will take on CSU Fullerton at 3:00 p.m. at Titan Stadium.

Follow the Gaels Live

For fans that are unable to make the trip to Southern California this weekend, gametracker will be available through the UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton websites, www.UCIrvinesports.com and www.fullertontitans.com, respectively. Gametracker can be accessed through their team's men's soccer schedule page.

Scouting the No. 17 UC Irvine Anteaters

UCI is currently ranked No. 17 in the NSCAA National Ranking, as posted on September 15. They are also ranked No. 16 nationally by College Sports News and No. 20 in the Soccer America poll this week.

The 'Eaters were 1-1 at the Marquette Invitational last weekend, defeating tournament host Marquette, 1-0, and losing 3-2 to DePaul. Seniors Carlos Aguilar and Irving Garcia, and juniors Amani Walker and Spencer Thompson were named to the all-tournament team. Overall, the Anteaters hold a 4-1-0 record, beating Santa Clara (3-2, 2ot), Long Island (1-0), and Cleveland State (2-0) in the first three games of their 2009 campaign.

Last season, UC Irvine was 15-2-6 overall and advanced to the post-season. The Anteaters made it to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, but lost to St. John's 3-2. The team returns seven starters from that NCAA Tournament starting line-up, as well as nine other letterwinners.

From last year's roster, the Anteaters lost Matt Murphy who led the team in points (30) and goals (11), as well as Kyle Schmid who started in all 23 games on defense. The Anteaters are led by a few upperclassmen that hope to continue the team's successes. Senior Irving Garcia and juniors Spencer Thompson and Amani Walker combined for 19 goals, 20 assists, and 58 points last season. Also, returning in goal is sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Fontein, who started in 19 games and recorded 73 saves last year.

All-Time Series vs. UC Irvine

To date, the Gaels are 4-3-1 all-time against the Anteaters. The last win for SMC was back on October 8, 1999 when the Gaels hit the game-winner in double overtime to win 2-1. The last time these two teams faced each other was last season in Moraga where the Gaels fell short 2-3. SMC's Malcolm Alugas scored the first goal of his career in that game, scoring in the first half off an assist by Justin Grider.

Scouting the CSU Fullerton Titans

The Titans are coming off a weekend where they beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2-1, and Fairleigh-Dickinson, 3-0, in the Cal State Northridge Tournament. CSUF's Bobby Reiss, Celso Alvarez, and Justin Burney were named to the all-tournament team.

CSUF enters this week with a 3-1-0 record, and will face No. 12 UCLA on Thursday, September 17 at 7:00 p.m. before hosting SMC on Sunday.

Last season, the Titans were 5-14-1 overall, finishing sixth in the Big West Conference. CSUF returns three seniors to their starting line-up, including Matt Sanders, Shay Spitz, and Mark Nelson. Sanders was a 2008 All-Big West First Team selection and a 2007 All-Big West Honorable Mention selection. Spitz has been the Titans leading scorer in each of the last two seasons and Nelson started on defense in all 20 matches in 2008.

All-Time Series vs. CSU Fullerton

Saint Mary's and CSU Fullerton have not faced each other since October 28, 2001 when CSUF took the game 4-0. Overall, the Gaels hold a 1-4-1 record against the Titans. The only SMC win over CSUF came in 1992 when the Gaels won 3-1 on September 20.

Grider Leads the Way

The offensive-minded Grider, Justin Grider, scored his second goal of the season in the 1-1 tie over CSU Bakersfield last week. With the goal, he leads the team in goals (2) and points (4). In four games, he holds a .667 shots on goal average, taking nine shots with six on goal.

Griders first goal of the 2009 season came in the SMC 1-0 win over Alabama A&M. Alabama A&M's goalkeeper, Paul Musoke, made a diving save off a strike by SMC's Emmanuel Sarabia. Musoke was unable to hold on to the ball and Grider was there to put it in the back of the net.

A Look Back at Last Week

Last week, Saint Mary's had only one game, an away game against CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. SMC and CSUB ended in a 1-1 draw after two overtimes, giving the Gaels their second tie in four games.

Midfielder Justin Grider scored the lone goal for the Gaels, scoring off a header in the first half, that came off a rebound from junior Erik Rivas' shot that hit the crossbar. The Gaels took 14 shots on the day while CSU Bakersfield took 11.

What's Ahead for the Gaels

The Gaels return home for a four-game home stand, starting on Friday, September 25 against UC Davis at 4:00 p.m. West Coast Conference play begins the following weekend when the Gaels host Gonzaga on Friday, October 2 at 4:00 p.m. and Portland on Sunday, October 4 at 2:00 p.m. All games will be played at Saint Mary's Stadium.

Schedule

GAELS IN THE PROS

CHAMPIONS

HALL OF FAME

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