Yes, a home match is finally near for the Stan State men's soccer team. But first, the Warriors must travel to Chico on Wednesday for a midweek affair.
Team Records: 2-2-2, 0-1-1 CCAA [CCAA Standings]
Wednesday
Warriors at Chico State (4-2-0, 2-0-0 CCAA), University Soccer Stadium, Chico, 7 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Sunday
Warriors vs. San Francisco State (5-0-0, 0-0-0 CCAA), Warrior Stadium, Turlock, 11:30 a.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video]
SERIES NOTES: Chico State had dominated the head-to-head series in history with a 21-8-2 record, but the Warriors have challenged the Wildcats lately with a 3-2-1 record in the last six outings since October of 2012. Stanislaus lost to Chico, 2-1, in double overtime last year in Turlock (Oct. 14) … The Warriors and the SF State Gators are pretty even with an all-time record of 12-11-5, slightly in favor of SF State. The Warriors lost 2-0 a year ago (Oct. 29) but were 2-0-1 in the previous three tries.
LOGGING MORE MILES: By the time the Warriors return home Wednesday night, the team would have logged nearly 6,500 miles to play its last five matches. The trip to Chico (360 miles round trip) is a relatively short one compared to the Honolulu trip two weeks ago and last weekend's La Jolla-San Marcos bus ride.
GREAT DEFENSIVE EFFORTS: Stan State was able to pick up a point in the standings last Friday at Cal State San Marcos with solid defensive efforts against the Cougars as teams played to a scoreless draw. Each team took 14 shots in the match and Warrior starting goalkeeper Tomas Zajfert picked up six saves for the clean sheet and his second career shutout.
IT WILL BE NICE TO BE HOME: Sunday's home match against San Francisco State will be the Warriors' first regular season contest at Warrior Stadium in 2017. It's been a long time coming since they will play their first seven games away from home to begin the year. The Warriors did have two preseason scrimmages at home in August against UC Merced (Aug. 20) and William Jessup (Aug. 24).
FOUR-GOAL RARITY: In Sunday's loss at UC San Diego, the Warriors allowed four first half goals to the Tritons — which is a rarity for the program. During the Dana Taylor era, allowing four goals in a match only happened a total of six times prior to this week — all of those were four goals allowed with a Stan State record of (0-5-1).
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Chico State recorded two shutouts on the road last weekend with wins at UC San Diego (2-0) and Cal State San Marcos (3-0). The Wildcats wins over GNAC powers Seattle Pacific and Western Washington before losses to Point Loma and California Baptist, both at home. Jeremiah Equjie leads the team with six goals, three of which came on Sunday at Cal State San Marcos. Damion Lewis has played every second in goal (1.45 GAA, 2 shutouts) … SF State has not played a conference match this season. The Gators are undefeated in non-conference play, outscoring opponents 19-5. They last played on Sept. 10, a 5-0 win over Academy of Art. Ranier Plantinos leads the team with seven goals. Kyle Harmina has a 0.98 GAA with three shutouts.
