Bakersfield - The California State University, Bakersfield Men's Soccer returns home to the friendly confines of The Main Soccer Field on Saturday, Sept. 17, hosting undefeated San Francisco for their annual Celebrate the 661 event at 7 p.m. After a week of training The Roadrunners will then head north to Portland to close out the non-conference schedule with a date against the Pilots on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Bakersfield is 2-3-1 on the season, following a scoreless draw at California Baptist earlier this week.
USF enters Saturday's contest with a record of 4-0-2, including an impressive 6-0 dismantling of Big West foe Cal Poly in their latest outing. The Pilots are also undefeated with a draw against #21 Indiana, and will face Denver and West Virginia this week before welcoming the 'Runners to The City of Roses.
CSUB's game with the USF Dons is available for streaming on ESPN+ and tickets can be purchased for just $6.61 by visiting GoRunners.com/Tickets and using the promo code 661.
THIS WEEK...
vs San Francisco (Saturday, Sept. 17 - 7:00 PM) | Bakersfield, Calif. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
at Portland (Friday, Sept. 23 - 7:00 PM) | Portland, Ore. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
ROADRUNNER QUICK STRIKES...
* Goalkeeper Filippo Dadone was named The Big West's Defensive Player of the Week, on Sept. 5, after making eight-saves and posting a 2-0-0 in a weekend sweep of visiting Grand Canyon and Gonzaga. Dadone made five more saves this week in a loss versus Utah Tech and a road draw with California Baptist. The junior from Turin, Italy has allowed just a single goal in his last 280:24, lowering his season goals-against average to 1.36 and raising his save-percentage to .733.
* Rene Cortez and Jacob Fitzgerald are Bakersfield's leading scorers this season, with each registering a goal and an assist on the year. Cortez figured in both goals in a win over visiting Grand Canyon, while Fitzgerald scored against Pacific and picked up an assist on the game-winning goal against Gonzaga.
* Senior captain and central midfielder Carlos Armendariz ranks third in The Big West in shots attempted per game, averaging 2.67 chances per 90 minutes. The San Francisco, Calif., native has taken 16 shots in six games this season, putting five on target.
* Carlos Armendariz has made 41 consecutive starts, dating back to Aug. 30, 2019 against Elon. Armendariz has gotten the pre-game nod in 41 of the 44 games he's appeared in during his Roadrunner career, scoring nine goals and picking up a single assist for 19 career points. The San Francisco native, is a third-year captain for CSUB. Defender Harry Downing is the only other 'Runner to appear in at least 40 matches, drawing his 40th cap earlier this week at California Baptist.
* Filippo Dadone has faced 10.67 shots per game while minding the Roadrunner goal, including 5.0 opposing shots on goal each night. Dadone's stopped 73.3% of the SOG he's faced this season, making 22 total saves. Excluding a four-goal barage at Pacific, Dadone's save percentage leaps to 84.0%.
* Bryson Hankins leads the 'Runners with 536 minutes played in six games, missing just four minutes total all season long.
* Four of Bakersfield's five goals this season have been scored by first timers. Freshman Andres Perez de Gracia, sophomores Rene Cortez and Jacob Fitzgerald and junior Stephon Marcano have each registered their first career tallies in 2022. Cortez and Fitzgerald lead the team in scoring to date, having each also collected their first career assists this season.
* CSUB Men's Soccer alum Kyle Lundy was tragically killed earlier this week. Lundy played for the Roadrunners from 2002-04, and was a team leader on the 2004 team that captured the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship. Since graduation, Lundy has been closely tied to the local youth soccer community, most recently serving as a youth coach and technical director with Albion Central California.
* The Roadrunners lead the conference with 20 yellow cards, and an average of 3.33 cautions per game, but rank second to last in the Big West with just 10.83 total fouls per outing.
* One win this week would give CSUB their highest non-conference win total since winning three out of league decision in 2015. The Roadrunners have wins over Grand Canyon and Gonzaga this season, and begin league play on Sept. 28 versus Sacramento State.
* 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's match-ups with the Dons and the Pilots will close the non-conference schedule for the 2022 season. CSUB will then open Big West Conference play on Wednesday, Sept. 28 in an Education Day tilt with visiting Sacramento State at The Main Soccer Field before traveling to Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 1. The 'Runners beat both the Hornets and Titans in 2021.
