The Otters will look to rediscover their offensive touch when they play at Sonoma State Saturday afternoon.
SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's soccer team found its best offensive success of 2012 while scoring three goals in its first meeting versus Sonoma State. They'll look to at least duplicate that level of success when they head to Wine Country for a rematch with the Seawolves Saturday (Oct. 13).
Although postseason play is no longer a realistic consideration, Head Coach Rob Cummings sees the last five matches of the season as full of opportunity for the Otters.
“There's still a lot of soccer to be played and we can have a big impact on the postseason,” says Cummings. “Now, it's a matter of being committed to what we are trying to build. We have a lot of pieces in place and five opportunities for players to to improve.”
Saturday's match at Sonoma begins the final roadtrip of the season for Otter soccer. CSUMB will play at San Francisco State and East Bay Oct. 19-21 before returning home to close the season against San Bernardino and San Diego Oct. 26-28.
OTTERS (1–9–0 OVERALL, 1–8–0 CCAA) at SONOMA STATE (5–4–2, 4–3–2 CCAA)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 • 7:00 P.M.
SEAWOLF FIELD • ROHNERT PARK, CALIF.
SEAWOLF SNIPPETS
After opening the season by winning 5 of their first 6 matches, the Seawolves have struggled recently, losing 2 straight as part of an 0–3–2 slide…Taylor Varnadore has accounted for nearly half (7) of Sonoma's 16 goals this season…Beau Diaz has played all 1,034 minutes in goal with 32 saves and a 1.05 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
-
SSU owns a 13–3–1 edge in all–time series at the Div. II level.
-
SSU has taken the last 5 matches in the series.
-
The last 3 matches in the series have all been one–goal decisions in favor of Sonoma, including a 4–3 win in Seaside on Sept. 7.
-
The last Otter win in the series was a 2–0 victory over then No. 7 SSU on Oct. 16, 2009 in Seaside.
LAST 10 MEETINGS
2012 Sonoma 4, at CSUMB 3
2011 Sonoma 1, at CSUMB 0
2011 at Sonoma 2, CSUMB 1
2010 Sonoma 3, at CSUMB 1
2010 at Sonoma 2, CSUMB 0
2009 at CSUMB 2, at Sonoma 0
2009 at Sonoma 4, CSUMB 0
2008 Sonoma 6, at CSUMB 0
2008 CSUMB 2, at Sonoma 2 (ot)
2007 at Sonoma 4, CSUMB 2
2007 Sonoma 2, at CSUMB 0
THIS WEEK IN OTTER MEN'S SOCCER HISTORY
Kyle Satow had a goal and an assist vs. San Bernardino then scored the match–winner vs. Cal Poly Pomona as the Otters swept the Coyotes & Broncos Oct. 12–14, 2007.
OTTER MEN'S SOCCER ODDS & ENDS
BREAKING THE CODE: So far in 2012, the Otters have been the only team to solve the Sonoma State defense past the two–goal level this season. The Otters put three behind the Seawolves when the teams met in Seaside on Sept. 7. In fact, the Otters are the only team to score as many as three goals against Sonoma State since Cal State Stanislaus beat the Seawolves 4–3 on Oct. 2, 2011.
RECORD WATCH: The match–winner by senior forward Andrew Breault Sunday versus Cal State East Bay gave the senior forward 20 points for his career. He becomes just the sixth player in Otter history to reach that mark. Fellow senior Max Brixey is No. 4 on that list with 26 career points.
THIS DRAKE IS NO LAME DUCK: Freshman Evan Drake made his first four collegiate appearances in the last four matches. In his first Otter start, he saved a penalty to keep CSUMB in the match, although the Otters eventually fell 2–1 at Cal Poly Pomona. Sept. 30 vs. East Bay, he made three saves to pitch his first collegiate shutout as the Otters won in overtime, 1–0. Drake owns a 1.24 goals against average and has yet to allow more than two goals in a match.
WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING? The Otters finally experienced overtime for the first time in 2012, needing three extra minutes to beat Cal State East Bay on Sept. 30. Prior to this season, the Otters had failed to play at least one overtime match through their first eight matches just twice in their tenure at the NCAA Division II level. CSUMB has averaged four overtime matches per season since joining forces with the NCAA in 2004. They have never gone a season without playing into overtime.
