TURLOCK, Calif.---  Stan State men's soccer home opener this Saturday, September 16 at 7pm versus Hawai'i Pacific highlights this week for the Warriors.  Prior to hosting the Sharks on Saturday, Stan State will travel to Fresno for a 7pm match with Central Valley rival Fresno Pacific this Wednesday, September 13. Saturday's Home Opener will be Golden Valley Health Center Night.
 
UPDATE ON THE WARRIORS:  Stan State is 1-2 after losing 3-2 at Fresno Pacific in its third straight road match to begin the season.  All three of the Warriors' matches have been decided by just one goal.  Edgar Castaneda leads the Warriors with his five points (two goals, one assist, one game-winning goal).  He is tied with Tyler Tipton for the team lead with two goals.  Finn Hoffman has three points (one goal, one assist) and Kai Perez has assisted on a goal.  Robby Rosas has posted a 2.00 goals against average with a .684 saves percentage in goal for the Warriors.  He has 13 saves in Stan State's first four matches.
 
LAST MATCH: Playing in their third straight road match, the Warriors lost 3-2 at Azusa Pacific.  Edgar Castaneda gave Stan State the early 1-0 lead on unassisted goal in the 13^th minute.  The Cougars scored three unanswered goals including the final goal in the 67^th minute.  The Warriors cut the deficit to 3-2 with 15 minutes left on a free kick goal by Finn Hoffmann, but they couldn't tie the match.  Robby Rosas had six saves in goal for the guests. 
 
FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH:  John Powell ('11) returned to his alma mater as the Warriors' head men's soccer coach when he was hired this Spring after spending the past two seasons on the sidelines at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Powell guided the Nighthawks to a 15-4-3 record this season including an appearance in the NCAA Division II Super Region Four Final (Elite Eight).  He was the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Coach of the Year and guided the Nighthawks to their best season in program history.  They captured the GNAC regular season title and won three NCAA Division II Tournament matches, before losing 1-0 to the National Champion Runner-up, Colorado State-Pueblo.  He coached twelve All-GNAC honorees and four All-Region players during his two-years at NNU. In his four seasons coaching at Stan State and Northwest Nazarene with a 28-21-3 overall record. 

FINALLY:  After traveling to Fresno this Wednesday evening at 7pm to face Fresno Pacific, Stan State will have its home opener this Saturday, September 16 at 7pm facing Hawai'i Pacific.  This will be the beginning of a five-match homestand for the Warriors.  After Saturday, Stan State will face Academy of Art (Tues., Sept. 19 at 7pm), No. 25 Chico State (Sat., Sept. 23 at 4:30pm), Cal State San Marcos (Fri., Sept. 29 at 4:30pm), and Cal State East Bay (Sun., Oct. 1 at 11:30am).

CCAA LEADERS:  Edgar Castaneda and Tyler Tipton are tied for fourth in the latest CCAA statistical leaders each with two goals.  Castaneda is tied for fifth with five points and 1.67 points per game average.  Goalkeeper Robby Rosas is tied for second with his 13 saves and ninth with his .684 saves percentage.  
 
CCAA OPENER:  Coach Powell and the 2023 Warriors will begin their CCAA season on September 29 at 4:30pm hosting Cal State San Marcos.  This will be the beginning of an 11-match CCAA schedule. Stan State will look to qualify for the six-team CCAA Men's Soccer Championships.  The Semi-finals and Finals of the CCAA Men's Soccer Championships will be hosted by Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, Calif., Nov. 10-12.  The First Round is set for Sunday, Nov. 5 at the site of the higher seed (either the third or fourth 
seed).

FRESNO PACIFIC:  The Sunbirds are 1-3 after dropping their last two matches in back-to-back 6-1 losses at Cal State Monterey Bay on September 5 and Cal State Bakersfield on September 10.  Three different FPU players have scored at least one goal in Antonioangel Lepe, Chris Macias, and Taran Williams.  Lucas Ribero has two assists for the Sunbirds and Lepe scored their game-winner in FPU's 4-0 win over The Master's.  Elmer Carballo has a 4.16 goals against average with a .576 saves percentage.  Carballo has one shutout and 19 saves.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES:  Fresno Pacific leads the all-time series with the Warriors 13-6-2, but Stan State is 5-4-1 in the last ten matches.  The Warriors has won the last two meetings including a 4-0 victory in 2022 in Turlock.  Alecxander Cuellar scored all four goals for the Warriors.  Finn Hoffmann and Gerardo Delgadillo each had one assist.  Robby Rosas had one save in goal for the victors.
 
HAWAI'I PACIFIC: The Sharks are 1-2-1 heading into their match on Thursday evening against Cal Poly Humboldt in Turlock.  Hawai'i Pacific lost 1-0 Cal State East Bay on Sunday and defeated San Francisco State 3-0 in its last two matches.  Jude Boyd leads the team with his two goals and Leandro Weingartner has a team high two assists.  Connor Margo has a .737 saves percentage, 1.25 goals against average, and recorded 14 saves for the Sharks in goal.  
 
ALL-TIME SERIES:  Stan State leads the all-time series with the Sharks 2-1. The Warriors won the last meeting in 2017 in Hawai'i, 2-1.
 
BONUS SOCCER AT WARRIOR STADIUM:  Stan State will host the non-conference match-up between fellow CCAA opponent, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Hawai'i Pacific this Thursday, September 14 at 7pm.  Live stats and streaming will be available on www.warriorathletics.com. 
  
LIVE STATS/VIDEO:  All home and conference matches will be live streamed on The CCAA Network.   The network has a monthly subscription rate of $9.95, which can watch any CCAA sport that is hosted at any CCAA institution during that 30-day period.   You can view it at www.ccaanetwork.com/STAN.  Live stats can be viewed at https://warriorathletics.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary.
 
THURSDAY'S LIVE VIDEO:  You can view the Warriors' match at FPU at https://team1sports.com/fpusunbirds/.
 
UP NEXT:  After Saturday's match with Hawai'i Pacific, the Warriors will continue their five-match homestand with a pair of non-conference matches next week at Warrior Stadium.  Stan State will host Academy of Art on Tuesday, September 19 at 7pm and Chico State on Saturday, September 23 at 4:30pm.