Men's Soccer Wraps Up 2022 Campaign at Cal Poly

Bakersfield - The California State University, Bakersfield Men's Soccer will close out the 2022 regular season on Saturday, Oct. 29, when the team makes the two-hour trek to San Luis Obispo, Calif., to face rival Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The game will mark the final contest of the campaign for a Bakersfield team that will miss the post-season for the first time since 2018. The Roadrunners will look to avenge a 2021 home loss to the Mustangs at The Main Soccer Field, and salvage some momentum heading into the off-season.

The 2022 Roadrunners featured 17 freshman or sophomore student-athletes, while lowering their goals against average from 1.94 to 1.56, thanks in large part to a standout performance from the back line of defense and new goalkeeper Filippo Dadone. On the other end of the pitch, CSUB struggled to find consistency, scoring just nine goals in 16 contests to date. Bakersfield will look for one final offensive flourish against a Cal Poly club that allows nearly three goals per outing.

THIS WEEK...
at Cal Poly (Saturday, Oct. 29 - 7:00 PM) | San Luis Obispo, Calif. | Watch | Live Stats

ROADRUNNER QUICK STRIKES...
* The Roadrunners will miss the post-season for the first time since 2018. Bakersfield has enjoyed an unprecedented run of success under current head coach Richie Grant, reaching the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons at CSUB...

* Cal Poly leads the all-time series between the two schools, 26-5-3, including an 8-1-1 record in the past 10 meetings and a 2-0 win at The Main Soccer Field on Oct. 30, 2021. The Roadrunners last win in the series came on Nov. 11, 1994...

* Captain & central midfielder Carlos Armendariz leads the team in goals and scoring for the second straight season with three goals and an assist for seven points. Jacob Fitzgerald leads the 'Runners with two assists...

* Goalkeeper Filippo Dadone has started all 16 games this season, making 58 stops for an average of more than 3.5 saves per game...

* Forward Rene Cortez is second on the team with two goals scored, while Jacob Fitzgerald, Andres Perez De Gracia, Shammai Camara and Atli Stefansson have also scored...

* Filippo Dadone, Bilal Mihoubi, Carlos Armendariz and Shammai Camara have all started each f CSUB's 16 games during the 2022 campaign, while 10 Roadrunners have played more than 1000 minutes this season. Cortez could become #11 with 59 minutes of action against Cal Poly...

* Bakersfield has racked up 38 yellow cards this season, averaging more than two per game...

* One goal has made all the difference for Bakersfield in 2022 - whether for or against. The Roadrunners are now 2-7-2 in games decided by one goal or less this season. CSUB has allowed more than two goals on only two occasions this season, but have managed just four goals in their last 12 outings.

* Roadrunner goalkeeper Filippo Dadone needs seven more stops to move into Bakersfield's Single-Season Top-10 in saves. The native of Cuneo, Italy, has turned aside 58 of the 82 shots he's faced this season. Matt Touchstone is currently 10th all-time with 65 saves in 1995.

* CSUB honored four seniors ahead of Saturday's contest with UC Riverside at The Main Soccer Field. Captains Carlos Armendariz and Harry Downing, along with defender Stephon Marcano and midfielder Juan Pablo Alvarez all made their final appearances in front of the home crowd that night, and all four will make their final appearances in Bakersfield Blue & Gold, Saturday at Cal Poly.

* Carlos Armendariz has been a mainstay in the Roadrunner starting line-up over the last three seasons. The senior from San Francisco, Calif., made his 50th-consecutive start at UC Irvine October 19. Armendariz leads the 2022 team in scoring with two goals and one assist for five points and boasts 10 career goals and 22 career points. He was a 2019 All-WAC Honorable Mention choice and a 2021 Big West Second-Team honoree.

* Freshman forward Atli Stefansson scored the first goal of his career in Bakersfield's loss at UC Davis on Oct. 12. Stefansson followed up his strike with the first start of his CSUB career three days later against CSUN on Viva Los 'Runner's night. Stefansson is the fourth Roadrunner to score his first career goal this season, joining Andres Perez De Gracia, Jacob Fitzgerald and Shammai Camara.

* The 'Runners have advanced to conference tournaments in six of head coach Richie Grant's seven seasons in Bakersfield. Last season, CSUB placed fourth in the Big West - after being picked to finish dead last - and hosted a quarterfinal contest with UC Davis at The Main Soccer Field. This season, CSUB was picked to place 8th in the 10-team league.

* Five different Roadrunners have capped internationally at the youth or senior* level. Danian Alguera (USA & El Salvador), Stephon Marcano (Trinidad & Tobago*), Scott Pengelly (Northern Ireland), all boast international caps, while Carlos Armendariz and Adrian Medina have each represented the United States at the Senior National Level in Futsal. Marcano dressed for a pair of T&T friendlies this past summer, at Boliva and at Belize.

* Ten Roadrunners prepped for the college game by representing and competing with professional youth academies - including Damian Alguera (Philadelphia Union, Sporting KC, SJ Earthquakes), Filippo Dadone (Juventus Academy), Harry Downing (Plymouth Argyle FC), Kevin Estrada (San Francisco Glens), Bryson Hankins (Seattle Sounders FC), Sucre Herrera (Sacramento Republic FC), Nathan Jimenez (Sacramento Republic FC), Adrian Medina (San Francisco Glens), Scott Pengelly (Fleetwood Town FC) and Andres Perez de Gracia (Crystal Palace FC & Derby County FC).

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Men's Soccer Wraps Up 2022 Campaign at Cal Poly