By james art What 2 Watch 4
Three teams are tied for first place in The Big West standings after three weeks of conference play. UC Santa Barbara (9-3-3), Cal Poly (6-4-5) and Cal State Bakersfield (6-3-4) share first place with a 3-1-2 record in the league. Just below the trio is another top three in UC San Diego (4-7-4), Sacramento Staet (6-7-2) and UC Irvine (6-7-1) with identical 3-3 conference marks.
The penultimate week of the conference will begin on Wednesday, highlighted by UC Irvine at Cal Poly. The Anteaters can leapfrog the Mustangs in the standings with a win. The other four games are Cal State Bakersfield at UC Davis (5-5-5, 1-3-2 BW), UC Riverside (3-5-5, 1-1-4 BW) at UC San Diego, CSUN (2 – 7-5, 0-4-2 BW) at UC Santa Barbara and Sacramento State at Cal State Fullerton (6-4-4, 2-2-2 BW).
Saturday’s slate will include UC San Diego at UC Davis, Sacramento State at UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly at CSUN and UC Riverside at Cal State Bakersfield.
This week, a total of 10 contests will be broadcast on ESPN+, the exclusive broadcast rights holder of The Big West.
Survey position
UC Santa Barbara receives votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings on Oct. 22.
Five Big West teams are included in the latest Far West region rankings. UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 1. Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly and UC Davis are ranked 4-7, respectively.
For the gauchos
UC Santa Barbara is 9-3-3 overall, 3-1-2 in The Big West, receiving votes in the latest national poll and first in the Far West Region. The Gauchos are led by the Big West leader in points and goals Alexis Ledoux who has 12 goals and three assists on the season for 27 points. Ledoux is third nationally in goals and fourth in points. goalkeeper David Mitzner is second in the league in goals against average at 0.87 and has six shutouts this year.
About the Mustangs
Cal Poly is 6-4-5 overall and 3-1-2 in The Big West. The Mustangs, ranked sixth in the Far West Region, and goalie Nicky McCune has a conference-leading (eighth nationally) goals against average of 0.67 with six shutouts this season. Quinn Mahoney is Cal Poly’s top offensive threat with three goals and four assists so far this season.
About Roadrunners
Cal State Bakersfield is 6-3-4 overall and 3-1-2 in The Big West. The Roadrunners, rated fourth in the Far West Region, are led by Connor Mautino who has 10 goals on the season, which ranks him second in the conference and 10th in the country.
About the Tritons
UC San Diego is 4-7-4 overall and 3-3 in The Big West. goalkeeper Nolan Premack has 59 saves this season, which ranks him second in the conference and 15th nationally. Max Carvalho is the Tritons’ biggest offensive catalyst with four goals and three assists so far this season.
About anteaters
UC Irvine is 6-7-1 overall and 3-3 in The Big West. Agathon Pourshahidi is the top scorer for the Anteaters with five goals for the year while Francesco MontanileHis five assists are tied for third in the league.
About the Hornets
Sacramento State is 6-7-2 overall and 3-3 in The Big West. goalkeeper Mac learned amassed 68 saves this season, leading the conference and ranking fifth in the nation. Donovan Sesames has the third-best nine goals in the conference this season, five of them game-winning to lead the Hornets.
For the titans
Cal State Fullerton is 6-5-5 overall and 2-2-2 in The Big West. The Titans, ranked fourth in the Far West Region, have racked up 32 goals on the season with an offense led by Roberto Ordonez (6g, 7a) and Eric Serrano (4g, 6a). Ordonez is ranked 20th nationally. Suleiman Bach, Jose de la Torre and Fitz Williams also have three or more goals this year.
About the Highlanders
UC Riverside is 3-5-5 overall and 1-1-4 in The Big West. Luka Lukic and Noah Lopez buoy the Highlanders by four goals each. goalkeeper Carlos Gonzalez has four shutouts on the year for a career total of 18, which is the most in The Big West.
About Aggie
UC Davis is 5-5-5 overall and 1-3-2 in The Big West. The Aggies, ranked seventh in the Far West Region, are led by Cason Goodman and Keegan Walwyn-Bent who have six and four goals respectively this season.
For the Matadors
CSUN is 2-7-5 overall and 0-4-2 in The Big West. Michael Blevins and Jorge Solorzano lead the Matadors with three goals each.
Preseason forecast
UC Irvine is favored to win The Big West according to the 2024 Big West Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
The Anteaters (9-7-4, 5-3-1 BW) earned four first-place votes for a total of 75 points. The coaches also voted an 11-man preseason All-Big West team. Three Anteaters were featured in the team in the senior linebacker trio Francesco Montanilegoalkeeper Luke Pruter and defender Matthias Vinnum. Montanil had one goal and four assists for UCI last season. Pruter was selected with the last pick in the 2023 MLS Draft, but decided to forgo the opportunity and return to the Anteaters. The goalie had a 1.04 goals-against average and was part of eight shutouts en route to a second-team All-Big West selection in 2023. Winham was part of an Anteater backline that had a 1.05 goals-against average and placed on first-team all-conference roster.
Defending regular season champion Cal State Fullerton (12-5-3, 6-2-1 BW) was picked to finish second, earning three first-place votes for 66 points. The Titans earned three spots on the preseason team as a senior forward Suleiman Bachsenior forward Roberto Ordonez and senior midfielder Eric Serrano. All three were members of the All-Big West first team in 2023. Last year, Bach collected eight goals and two assists, Ordonez was Offensive Player of the Year with nine goals and 10 assists, and Serrano was Midfielder of the Year with four goal and eight assists.
UC Santa Barbara (10-8-2, 4-3-2 BW) earned the remaining three first-place votes for 65 points to move into third place in the poll. The Gauchos took three spots on the preseason team as a senior linebacker Mikel Gölingsenior forward Alexis Ledoux and senior midfielder Nemo Philip. Goeling had four goals and three assists last year to earn a spot on the Big West first team. Ledoux was also a first team player in 2023 with four goals and two assists. Phillip was named honorable mention with five goals and four assists last season.
UC Davis (56), Cal Poly (51), CSUN (41), UC Riverside (31), UC San Diego (29), Cal State Bakersfield (18) and Sacramento State (18) round out the rest of the poll. UC Davis junior forward Cason Goodman and CSUN Senior Marley Edwards occupy the last two spots in the preseason squad. Last season, Goodman recorded seven goals and three assists to earn second-team All-Big West honors. Edwards appeared in 18 games and made 12 starts for the Matadors in 2023.
The Big West at TopDrawerSoccer
Three Big West players are named to TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason edition of the National Top 100 Players. Roberto OrdonezCal State Fullerton offensive powerhouse tops the list at No. 26. The UC Irvine goaltender Luke Pruter is ranked No. 41 and a linebacker at Cal State Fullerton Eric Serrano is placed at number 53.
Two Big West players were named in TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason best XIs. Ordonez was a third-team honoree at Sacramento State Ethan Kelly is a member of the all-freshman team.
2023. Rewind
In the 2023 Big West men’s soccer season, Cal State Fullerton (12-5-3) won the regular season title with a 6-2-1 league record and earned first place in the conference championship.
No. 2 seed UC Irvine (9-7-4, 5-3-1 BW) won The Big West Championship for the fifth time in program history with a 2-1 semifinal victory over No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara and 8 -7 penalty shot advantage against #4 seed UC Davis.
The Anteaters fell to LMU in the first round of the NCAA Championship, 4-2. The Lions were always going to progress all the way to the Elite Eight.
2024 MLS Project
In December 2023, CSUN forward Jamar Ricketts and UC Irvine goalkeeper Luke Pruter were selected in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Ricketts was selected with the 13th overall pick in the first round by the San Jose Earthquakes, and Pruter’s name was called by the Columbus Crew with the 87th overall pick in the third round.
The draft picks were the 54th and 55th Big West men’s soccer players, respectively, selected in MLS SuperDraft history.
Ricketts became the 11th Matador selected and the third CSUN player ever to be selected in the first round. The Montclair, N.J., product had a breakout season for the Matadors in 2023, being named first-team All-Big West and second-team All-Far West Region, scoring a career-high eight goals and dishing out five assists. Ricketts led the nation in field goal percentage with a .622 clip. The three-year Matador was a member of the All-Big West First Team and All-Far West Region Second Team in 2022 and the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2021.
Pruter is the ninth Anteater selected in the MLS SuperDraft. The Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., native was a wall for UC Irvine’s 2023 defense, collecting 51 saves for a .708 save percentage and 1.04 goals-against average en route to All-Big West second team and All-Far West honors for second team at region. Pruter led the Anteaters from the cage to the 2023 Big West Championship title, including the game-winning penalty save to clinch the crown. The goaltender spent three years at UC Irvine, racking up 143 starts over 45 games and decided to return for a fourth and final season.