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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The HBU men's soccer team closed out the home portion of its schedule last weekend and now faces three-straight road games to close out the 2018 regular season beginning this weekend against CSU Bakersfield and California Baptist.
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Huskies (4-6-3, 2-4-1 WAC) will be in Bakersfield, Calif. to face the Roadrunners (4-10-1, 2-5-1 WAC) at Main Soccer Field with a 9:00 p.m. central kickoff. HBU's game at California Baptist (7-8-1, 3-5-0 WAC) on Sunday, Oct. 28, will start at 5:00 p.m. central.
The Huskies are currently ninth in the WAC standings, directly behind eight-place CBU, but the Lancers are ineligible for the WAC tournament as they go through the NCAA Division I transition process. With the WAC taking seven teams to the tournament, that puts HBU one spot out of qualifying with CSUB right behind the Huskies in the standings.
Last weekend, the Huskies saw their match against Grand Canyon interrupted by lightning and rain nearly 64 minutes into the game. After extensive an extensive weather delay, the game was cancelled due to the amount of rain that fell rendering the field unplayable. Then, two days later, the Huskies played UNLV at an off-campus site, falling 1-0. In WAC play, junior
Dominick Faletto leads the team with two goals and two assists for six points while
Thomas Menke is second on the squad with four points thanks to two goals.
CSUB has lost four-straight matches since handing Air Force one of its two losses on the season on Oct. 5. As a team, the Roadrunners have been out-scored 26-to-19 with junior Ryan Goldsmith pacing the team in scoring with 12 points on five goals and a pair of assists. Tom Shepherd, a sophomore, has three goals and three assists. In goal, Detre Bell and Rodrigo Sarmiento have split time. The two have combined for 65 saves, a .714 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.72.
For CBU, the Lancers are 2-2-1 on their home turf and boast the top goal-scorer in the league. Sophomore Preston Judd leads all WAC players with 13 goals and 28 total points (13 g, 2 a). A pair of early-season hat tricks bolstered Judd's numbers as he has just two goals in WAC play. Judd and Sebastian Weisbock are tied for the team-lead against WAC competition with five points each (2 g, 1 a). Albert Escuin, a junior, has been the Lancers' primary keeper this year with a 5-4-1 record and a pair of shutouts. Escuin has a 1.34 goals against average and a save percentage of .741.
HBU is 2-5-2 all-time against CSUB, picking up a 2-1 win at Sorrels Field last season. Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between the Huskies and Lancers.
Following the weekend's games, HBU will travel to Kansas City, Mo. on Saturday, Nov. 3, for the regular season finale against UMKC at 6:00 p.m.
