RIVERSIDE, Calif. ? The CSUB men's soccer team came out of the gates strong against UC Riverside, using a pair of early first-half goals to hold on for a 2-1 win Saturday.

Taking advantage of an early Highlander defensive miscue, Oscar Coppieters put the Roadrunners (4-11-0 overall) on the board just 35 seconds into the match. Gaining possession from UCR immediately after the opening kickoff, CSUB worked the ball up the left flank. Coppieters then took possession on a pass from Matt Shaxton and cut across the field, splicing through the Highlander defense and beating keeper Ryan Schmitz one-on-one from six yards out.

Sixteen minutes later freshman Chris Widdy made it 2-0 in favor of the ?Runners, scoring his first goal of the season on a double assist by Coppieters and Towa Manda. Coppieters began the play, sending a ball up the left flank to an onrushing Manda. Manda took the to the endline, then chipped it to the front of the goalmouth where Coppieters flicked it towards Widdy, who headed it into the net.

Riverside (4-11-1 overall) cut the deficit in half at the 30:41 mark when Joe Crompton took a quick free kick following a Bakersfield foul just outside the box, sending the ball past the ?Runner defense before it had a chance to set a wall.

In the second half, Bakersfield continued to dominate possession, breaking up numerous Highlander attacks in the midfield. Riverside broke through the ?Runner defense on a handful of occasions, but keeper Steve Trojanowski came up with three big second-half saves, keeping URC off the scoreboard.

The CSUB senior finished the match with six saves while Schmitz had one for the Highlanders.

Bakersfield returns home for the final time on Nov. 7 against Seattle, then concludes the 2008 season Nov. 9 at San Diego State.