Two short trips are on the docket this week for the Stanislaus State men's soccer team as the program looks to rebound and return to the familiar winning ways in 2017.
Thursday
Warriors at Fresno Pacific (0-0), Fresno, 7 p.m. | [Live Stats]
Saturday
Warriors at Notre Dame de Namur (0-0), Belmont, 2 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video]
SERIES NOTES: The Warriors are undefeated against Fresno Pacific in the last four meetings, with a 3-0-1 mark. Last year the teams played to a 2-2 draw in Turlock. FPU leads the series 6-4-1 and are 4-1 at home against Stanislaus … The Warriors have won four straight in this series with the last meeting in September of 2015. Stanislaus won that match 2-0 in Belmont and have shutout the Argonauts in each of the last two contests (won 1-0 in Turlock on Sept. 6, 2014). The Warriors hold a slight 5-4-0 advantage in the series.
SEASON OPENERS VS. FPU: Stanislaus also began the 2016 season against Fresno Pacific and NDNU last season, coming away with a tie and a loss, respectively. Both of those games were at home at Warrior Stadium. The last time the Warriors opened the season at Fresno was in 2012 with a 2-1 victory. The Warriors also started the 2009 and 2011 schedules against the Sunbirds, both were Stan State victories.
RETURNING TO THE CCAA DANCE: The team's goal is to return to the CCAA Tournament and parlay that into a NCAA berth. While the CCAA coaches didn't think was possible as the Warriors were predicted to finish ninth in the preseason poll, it's a task head coach Dana Taylor thinks it's reachable. "Our goal is just to get into the CCAA playoffs and if you do that you have a chance of winning the CCAA tournament. Then you have a chance for an automatic bid into the NCAA." That certainly isn't a foreign concept for the team. A number of current Warriors are just two seasons removed from the NCAA appearance of 2015 when the team set program records in scoring and posted a 15-4-3 record. The Warriors have appeared in the CCAA tournament five times — and four times under coach Taylor since 2011. Stan State captured a CCAA championship in 2012.
TRAINING CAMP SUCCESS: Head coach Dana Taylor, who begins his ninth season at the helm, is extremely pleased with the preseason practices thus far. He stated that "(The guys) started off really strong and have definitely shown improvement over last year in the sense that our skills level, our quickness and our ability to handle the ball are much better. There is a really good air about it all. The guys have a better understanding of the system and no want wants a repeat of last year. Sports are crazy and there are no guarantees, but for sure we have fixed a lot of the problems from last year through recruiting and everyone worked really hard since the spring."
VETERAN GOALKEEPER RETURNS: After sitting out due to both personal and medical reasons, Patrick Colombana returns with a lot of maturity and experience. Colombana has been around the program since 2012 and was strived to guard the net a season ago until a preseason injury sidelined him for the year. Tomas Zajfert, who started in 15 matches in 2016, is also much improved. He played on a PSL team in Texas over the summer to hone his skills and game-experience. The duo has split time during scrimmages and Taylor expects both to contribute regularly. "Tomas has developed into a leader in the back and is much more confident and ready to take charge. Pat is a big guy who can man the goal and is really looking sharp," Taylor added.
TREMENDOUS DEPTH IN THE MIDDLE: "We have a lot of depth in the middle of the field. It's the most loaded we've been since I've been here," Taylor said. Midfielders like returning Warriors Rafael Chavez and Fermin Chaidez are expected to take charge in controlling the game. In addition, returners such as Christian Kiryakous and Adrian Yepez should put in valuable minutes as well. Among the top newcomers in the midfield include Daniel Galvan and Angel Villaobos, who are both fantastic, according to Taylor.
SENIORS TAKE CHARGE OF BACKLINE: Seniors Matthew Waldron and Luis Hernandez will take charge on defense as they had in the past couple of seasons. However, Taylor expects Desmond Madrigal to also be a mainstay after settling into the position in 2016 when he replaced the injuried Jaime Ceja. Esteban Hernandez has also been brilliant, said Taylor. Adding to this group is the "very technical" Bradlee Taylor, coach Taylor's youngest son. A very accomplished club and youth soccer star, Taylor spent the summer playing in Australia to advance his skills.
WARRIORS WILL SCORE MORE GOALS: "We didn't score a lot of goals last year, but that will change. So far already in scrimmages and practices, we are sharper and scoring goals that wasn't typical of last season. We are definitely looking stronger up front." Sean Bender, who led the team in scoring with four goals and two assists a year ago, will primarily be a forward after transitioning into that role to start 2016. He will have the supporting cast of Ryan Chaney, Sean Baird and Amed Mohammed, plus newcomer Khalil Kirsey, who has great finishing abilities.
CROSSING THE ONE-GOAL LINES: Last year, the Warriors lost eight one-goal matches and three matches results in ties. In all, the 2016 squad played in seven overtime matches and went 0-3-4. The team would like to turn that around and be on the winning side of the one-goal matches and get positive results in the tight matches.
EARLY SEASON ROAD TRIPS: The Warriors open the 2017 season with seven consecutive road games between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20. They won't see the home pitch for a regular season match until Sunday, Sept. 24. The early schedule takes the team to Fresno, the Bay Area and Honolulu, Hawaii before the CCAA opening weekend matches at Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego. After facing Chico State in Chico on Sept. 20, the Warriors will finally host a home game on Sept. 24 … Stan State is trekking to Hawaii to play Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, Sept. 7-9. The trip will be a good challenge and opportunity for team-bonding, Taylor said.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Fresno Pacific was picked seventh in the coaches preseason poll after a 8-7-3 season in 2016. Senior Isaiah Asencio is the strong-hold of the team in the midfield and Dylan Rusconi led the team in scoring with eight points last year … Notre Dame de Namur will be led by Esteban Berumen, a 2016 All-American and PacWest's preseason pick for player of the year. Berumen scored 15 goals with six assists as a junior. NDNU, 9-9-0 in 2016, is picked to finish fifth in the conference.
