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Men's Soccer

Men’s Soccer to Host Cal Poly in Non-Conference Finale

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Looking to gain some momentum as it heads into the Western Athletic Conference schedule, the CSU Bakersfield men's soccer team will host Cal Poly on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

"We are confident that we are better from the experience of our tough schedule and we will draw confidence from our positive performance against Gonzaga," said CSUB head coach Richie Grant.  "This is a great final match to prepare for conference play."

SERIES HISTORY
The Mustangs have dominated the all-time series, recording a 23-6-3 mark since the series began in 1979.  As Division I programs, Cal Poly is 4-0-1 against CSUB.  CSUB's last victory over Cal Poly came back in 1994, when the Roadrunners scored a 2-0 shutout victory in San Luis Obispo. 
 
Last season, Cal Poly shutout CSUB in Paso Robles 1-0.  Junior forward Diego Alonso and Alex Sanchez assisted on Bryan Ibarra's goal in the 84th minute for the only goal of the match.  The Roadrunners outshot the Mustangs 13-10 and held a slight edge in corner kicks 8-7.  Senior keeper Simon Boehme made six saves to earn the shutout win for the Mustangs.  
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly heads to Bakersfield with a 1-3-1 overall record.  The Mustangs beat Fresno Pacific 4-1 to start the season and played Gonzaga to a 0-0 draw in their second match of the season.  Cal Poly has suffered three straight losses to Seattle U, Portland and Saint Mary's (Calif.) and heads to CSUB on a three-game skid.  Emmanuel Perez leads the team in goals (2), assists (2), points (6), shots (13) and shots on goal (6).  In goal, Jason Hernandez has a 1-0-1 record and a 0.79 goals against average, while Simon Boehme has played 355:35 of a possible 470 minutes, but has all three losses. 
 
GOMEZ LEADING WAY
CSUB freshman Francisco Gomez leads the Roadrunners with three goals on the season.  The first-year player from Corona High School scored the opening goal, which turned out to be the game-winner against Pacific, and added tallies against Sacramento State and Oregon State.  Against the Beavers, Gomez gave CSUB an early 1-0 lead, but that would be all the scoring for the visitors.
 
Gomez has five shots on the season and has scored on all three shots on goal.  The freshman is averaging nearly 50 minutes per match, playing a career-high 62 against UC Davis.  Gonzaga was the only match that Gomez did not record a shot. 
 
YOUNG DEFENSE
The `Runners back line has regularly been composed of three true freshman, Stephon Marcano, Charlie Wilcox and Kendall Burks and junior Niklas Koerber.  Burks has yet to leave the pitch this season, while Marcano has played 518 minutes out of a possible 545 and Wilcox has played 506 minutes.  Koerber has played 517 minutes after making 16 starts last season.  The junior also has an assist on the season and ranks third on the team with seven shots, two of which were on goal. 
 
Redshirt sophomore Detre Bell has already made 23 saves on teh season and has a save percentage of .639.  He picked up the sixth shutout of his career against Pacific and has played every second in goal this season. 
 
BELL MOVING UP CAREER RANKINGS
Keeper Detre Bell has recently moved up to No. 10 in the CSUB career rankings for goalie minutes played.  Bell has played 2199:56 minutes so far in just over one season in Bakersfield.  He recently passed up Matt Touchstone who played during the 1995 season.  Bell will likely pass Jesse Weinman this season for ninth on the all-time list later this season.  Weinman played for CSUB from 1998-2000. 
 
Already this season, Bell passed Anthony Perez for seventh on the all-time saves list.  In just over one season, Bell has stopped 105 shots.  Next on the list is Weinman with 142. 
 
SHEPHERD RECORDS CAREER-HIGH
Although he couldn't find the back of the net against Gonzaga, sophomore Tom Shepherd recorded a career-best five shots, one of which was on goal.  Shepherd's previous high was four which came in the season-opener against Bethesda. 
 
Despite missing the UC Davis match due to a red card, Shepherd is tied for second on the team with two goals and tied for the team lead in assists with two with Sebastian Mentel and Niall Owens.  His six points are tied with Mentel and Francisco Gomez for tops on the club.  Shepherd is CSUB's most-active offensive threat as he has four more shots (13) than his next closest teammate and has four more shots on goal (7) than Gomez and Ryan Goldsmith, who have three each. 
 
LINEUP CHANGES
Six games into the season, head coach Richie Grant has used four different lineups.  Part of that is finding the right mix of players to start and come off the bench as nearly half of CSUB's squad is made up of newcomers and a third of the team is made up of freshman. 
 
The Roadrunners have also been beat up as they have been without the services of senior captain Jacob Alatorre and will be without sophomores Lucas Vukovic and Kike Aguilar for the season.  Junior defender Jeremie Charron played just six minutes in the season opener before suffering an injury that has kept him out of the last five matches.  Redshirt senior Sebastian Mentel seems to be fully healthy after rehabbing from a preseason injury.  Mentel came off of the bench in the first three matches, but has made three straight starts.  The Canadian played the full 90 minutes in the last match against Gonzaga. 
 
NEWCOMERS LEAD THE ATTACK
CSUB newcomers have accounted for eight of CSUB's 12 goals on the season, six of the `Runners 10 assists, 30 of their 59 shots and 14 of the 21 shots on goal.  Freshman Francisco Gomez leads the team in goals with three, while Tom Shepherd and Niall Owens are tied for the team lead with two assists.  Shepherd also leads the club with 13 shots and seven shots on goal. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Kike Aguilar

#17 Kike Aguilar

MF
5' 11"
Sophomore
Jacob Alatorre

#11 Jacob Alatorre

MF
5' 11"
Senior
Detre Bell

#1 Detre Bell

GK
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
Jeremie Charron

#5 Jeremie Charron

D
5' 10"
Junior
Niklas Korber

#10 Niklas Korber

MF
5' 9"
Junior
Sebastian Mentel

#19 Sebastian Mentel

F
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Lucas Vukovic

#12 Lucas Vukovic

F
6' 1"
Sophomore
Francisco Gomez

#16 Francisco Gomez

F
6' 3"
Freshman
Charlie Wilcox

#4 Charlie Wilcox

D
6' 1"
Freshman
Kendall Burks

#3 Kendall Burks

D
6' 2"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kike Aguilar

#17 Kike Aguilar

5' 11"
Sophomore
MF
Jacob Alatorre

#11 Jacob Alatorre

5' 11"
Senior
MF
Detre Bell

#1 Detre Bell

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
GK
Jeremie Charron

#5 Jeremie Charron

5' 10"
Junior
D
Niklas Korber

#10 Niklas Korber

5' 9"
Junior
MF
Sebastian Mentel

#19 Sebastian Mentel

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
F
Lucas Vukovic

#12 Lucas Vukovic

6' 1"
Sophomore
F
Francisco Gomez

#16 Francisco Gomez

6' 3"
Freshman
F
Charlie Wilcox

#4 Charlie Wilcox

6' 1"
Freshman
D
Kendall Burks

#3 Kendall Burks

6' 2"
Freshman
D
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