California Baptist University
#21 San Diego
MSOC PREVIEW: Lancers Prep for A Challenging Home-and-Away Week
9/15/2024 1:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
RIVERSIDE - California Baptist men's soccer is five games into the 2024 season with a 1-1-3 record after Wednesday's high-scoring draw with CSUN. That record comes from the NCAA's 29th hardest schedule played thus far out of the 212 programs in Division I. That level of competition will continue as the Lancers will face two more quality opponents this week, first hosting No. 21 San Diego on Monday, September 16, before trekking to Los Angeles on Friday for a tilt against Loyola Marymount.
After starting the season goalless on the East Coast, the Lancers have exploded offensively for nine goals in three games, with the clear constant being huge production from the freshmen. Striker Blake D'Agostino has scored in three straight games, winger Jiro Uchida has a goal and an assist, and striker Andrew Lovell has provided a spark every time he has entered the match, including the Lancers first goal against No. 1 West Virginia.
USD AT A GLANCE
The Toreros enter Monday's match still unbeaten at 4-0-2, with road wins at UC San Diego and UC Irvine and a draw at home against then No. 20 Duke, 2-2. A lopsided 8-1 victory over Lipscomb has helped vault the Toreros into the top 10 in the NCAA in total goals and goals per game, but their goal differential drops to +4 this season without the heavy result against the Bison.
The Toreros have plenty of reasons to have had this match circled since schedules were released. Aside from continuing their unbeaten streak and improving on their No. 21 ranking, USD will remember the last meeting between themselves and the Lancers last November when Luis Mueller's equalizer was enough to force a shootout in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, which eventually went the way of CBU on the Torero's home field. Eight USD starters from that game remain on the roster this season and likely will not be satisfied with the memory of last season's regular-season win over the Lancers.
GAME INFO:
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Riverside, California
Venue: CBU Soccer Stadium
LINKS: ESPN+ | Live Stats | International Stream | USD Roster | USD Schedule | USD Season Stats
LMU AT A GLANCE
The Lions have had an eventful 2024 thus far, starting the season ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Preseason Poll, but then dropped their first two matches against No. 21 UCLA, 2-0, and CSUN, 2-1, to lose their ranking. They've since defeated Cal, but a loss to UC Riverside and a pair of draws against No. 1 West Virginia and Cal State Fullerton have LMU sitting at 1-3-2 and looking for a breakout performance. They will have a full week to prepare for the Lancers after drawing 2-2 against the Titans in Fullerton.
LMU's offense is a full team effort, with all five goals coming from five different players. Between the pipes, the Lions have split time evenly between two goalkeepers, with Massimo Pomponi earning the only win for their side so far.
GAME INFO:
Date: Friday, September 20
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Los Angeles, California
Venue: Sullivan Field
LINKS: ESPN+ | Live Stats | International Stream | LMU Roster | LMU Schedule | LMU Season Stats
