BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—A pair of matches with playoff implications are ahead for the CSU Bakersfield men's soccer team this weekend.
The Roadrunners begin the action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Air Force before hosting Missouri-Kansas City Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CSUB will honor its five-member senior class (Bryan Celis, Simon Doherty, Christian Duarte, Mario Iniguez, and Dante Niño) prior to the start of the Friday match.
Both weekend matches are part of doubleheaders with the CSUB women's soccer program. The Friday night doubleheader will also be AYSO Soccer Night and Central California Aztecs Night. Members, participants, and affiliates of these or other local youth soccer organizations are encouraged to attend for a night of fun, teambuilding, and Bakersfield soccer. The Aztecs annual club raffle will be held on site at the Main Soccer Field, with the winner being announced at halftime of the men's game. This year's grand prize will be a 2016 Fiat. This raffle is open to the public and tickets may be purchased on site at the games.
At the midway point of the WAC season, the 'Runners find themselves one point out of a WAC Tournament slot. CSUB has five points, and sit in 10th place overall. Grand Canyon, Air Force, San Jose State, and UIW are tied for sixth with six points. GCU and UIW are ineligible for the WAC Tournament as they are still transitioning to Division I.
Seattle U (15) leads the WAC. Utah Valley (13) is second. UNLV and Houston Baptist (10) are tied for third with Missouri-Kansas City in fifth with seven points.
This is the ninth time CSUB and Air Force are playing men's soccer. The Falcons lead the all-time series 4-3-1 and have won three in row in the series including a 4-2 decision last season in Colorado. The Falcons are 5-7 overall. Air Force relies on a strong defense as the Falcons have allowed only 15 goals this season. However, Air Force has only scored 12 in 12 matches this season. Tucker Axhoj leads the team in goals (4) and points (9).
CSUB leads the all-time series against Missouri-Kansas City 3-0. The Roadrunners defeated the Kangaroos 1-0 last season in Kansas City. The Kangaroos are 4-6-2 overall entering this week's action. UMKC is being outscored 26-15 this season. Pandelis Popgeorgiev is the team leader in goals (3) and points (8).
CSU Bakersfield went 0-1-1 last weekend. The Roadrunners lost 3-1 to No. 14/24 Seattle U on Friday before playing to a 0-0 draw against Utah Valley at home on Sunday.
~www.GoRunners.com~
