Bakersfield - The California State University, Bakersfield Men's Soccer continues Big West Conference play this week, beginning with a home date against defending conference champion UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners will also welcome the Tritons of UC San Diego on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Bakersfield dropped a pair of league contests on the opening weekend of Big West play, falling to Sacramento State and Cal State Fullerton by identical 1-0 margins a week ago.
CSUB is one of the top defensive teams in the Big West this season, allowing just 15 goals against in ten games played. Those numbers look even better after removing outliers against Pacific and San Francisco - in their remaining eight games, the 'Runners have surrendered just eight goals against.
The young Roadrunners have created plenty of offensive chances on the other end of the field, but have found the back of the net on just six occasions this season, including only once in their past six outings.
THIS WEEK...
vs UC Santa Barbara (Wednesday, Oct. 5 - 7:00 PM) | Bakersfield, Calif. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
vs UC San Diego (Saturday, Oct. 8 - 7:00 PM) | Fullerton, Calif. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
ROADRUNNER QUICK STRIKES...
* One goal has made all the difference for Bakersfield in 2022 - whether for or against. The Roadrunners have lost three consecutive games by one goal, falling to 2-4-0 in such contests this season. CSUB has allowed more than two goals on only two occasions this season, while allowing just eight combined in the other eight games played. The 'Runners have managed just six goals offensively, scoring just once in their last six outings.
* Bakersfield has played five of their first ten games at The Main Soccer Field this season but can look forward to playing four of their final seven contests at home down the stretch. The Roadrunners are 2-3-0 in the friendly confines of Kern County this season, as opposed to 0-4-1 on the road. CSUB's best stretch came earlier this season at home, when the club posted back-to-back wins over Grand Canyon and Gonzaga.
* The Roadrunners ranked second in the league in 2021 in penalty kick goals and penalty kick attempts, with four and five respectively. This season, CSUB is one of just four teams in The Big West yet to be awarded an opportunity from the penalty spot.
* Six Roadrunners have started all ten games this season - defenders Shammai Camara, Bryson Hankins, Juan Pablo Alvarez, midfielders Carlos Armendariz and Bilal Mihoubi and goalkeeper Filippo Dadone. Hankins leads the team in minutes played, seeing 891 of a possible 900 minutes of action. Camara, Alvarez, Mihoubi and Dadone are all playing in their debut seasons for CSUB.
* The tough-minded 'Runners have racked up 26 yellow cards in 10 games played, tied for tops in The Big West Conference. CSUB also averages a league-high 2.60 cautions per 90 minutes played. Harry Downing leads the Roadrunners with four yellow cards, tying him for 18th in the nation, while Juan Pablo Alvarez and Rene Cortez have three cautions each. Bakersfield has been cautioned just once through the first two conference contests.
* Senior captain Carlos Armendariz scored his team-leading second goal of the season in CSUB's 2-1 loss at #14 Portland. He also scored the game-winning tally earlier this season in a defeat of Grand Canyon in Bakersfield. Armendariz has scored six times in the past two seasons, with three of those goals standing up as game-winners. The San Francisco, Calif., native scored 2021 game winning goals against both of this week's opponents, beating Sacramento State on the road and Cal State Fullerton at last season's Latinx Heritage Celebration at The Main Soccer Field.
* Bakersfield goalkeeper Filippo Dadone ranks fourth in The Big West with his .732 save percentage this season. The Cuneo, Italy native, has made 42 stops, while allowing just 15 goals over ten games played, and also ranks third in the conference - and 16th nationally - with an average of 4.10 saves per night. Dadone was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 5, after stopping eight of nine opposing shots on goal in wins over Grand Canyon and Gonzaga.
* The 'Runners have advanced to conference tournaments in each 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. Damian 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 Bolivia 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).
* Fans of the Roadrunners can follow the team all season long online and on social media. Visit GoRunners.com for complete coverage, live streaming links and more, while following @CSUB_Football on both Twitter and Instagram for behind the scenes content and insight. Season tickets and single game seats for all Bakersfield home games are now available at GoRunners.com/Tickets...
Up Next...
Bakersfield opens The Big West stretch run with a trek to UC Davis on Wednesday, Oct. 12 for a 3 p.m. kickoff against the Aggies, before returning home on Saturday, Oct. 15 for the program's second-annual Viva Los 'Runners event against CSUN at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners beat. both UC Davis and CSUN during the 2021 regular season, but dropped a conference quarterfinal at home to the Aggies ending their season. Tickets are still available at GoRunners.com/Tickets or by calling 661.654.BLUE.
