With three non-conference matches remaining before West Coast Conference play, the Pacific men's soccer team (3-2-1) hosts San José State (1-2-2) on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Knoles Field before traveling to Orem, Utah to face the Wolverines of Utah Valley (1-4) in a 6:30 p.m. PT or 7:30 p.m. local time match on Saturday, Sept. 16
The Tigers split two matches last week, dropping a 5-2 decision at home to Sacramento State then defeating UC Davis, 1-0, on the road. A couple of Tigers picked up their first career goal for Pacific last week including
Emmanuel Obiefuna, who tallied the only goal in the win over the Aggies, and
Marco Martinez, who scored against Sacramento State. Fifth-year senior
Derick Roque had one tally against Sac State as well and leads the team with four goals.
The match between the Tigers and Spartans should be an evenly matched game. Both teams tied CSU Bakersfield, 1-1, and both beat UC San Diego, 2-1. Pacific has won four of the last five matches in the series but fell last year at San Jose, 2-0.
The Spartans participate in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in men's soccer, where they were predicted to finish second in the nine-team field behind defending champion California Baptist. San José State goalkeeper David Sweeney was tabbed the WAC preseason goalie of the year. The Spartans were 10-5-4 a year ago, including 5-2-2 in conference play.
The Tigers travel to Utah Valley to face a program they have not played since 2015. The Wolverines have lost their last four including a 6-0 setback to #6 Portland. Utah Valley was picked sixth in the nine-team WAC after finishing 7-8-1 last season, including a 5-4 WAC record.
Pacific will return home to play its final non-conference match before beginning WCC play with a 7 p.m. match on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Houston Christian (1-2-2). This will be the first meeting on the soccer pitch between the two programs.
The Huskies competed in the WAC last season where they finished 1-5-3. This season, Houston Christian moved to the Ohio Valley Conference and was picked third of eight teams in the OVC preseason poll. In most other sports, Houston Christian competed in the Southland Conference. The name of the institution also changed as it was previously Houston Baptist.
The Tigers do have a non-conference match remaining on its schedule. During the bye week in WCC play, Pacific will host California at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 as a feature event during the Homecoming & Family Weekend celebration.
Admission to home soccer matches on the Pacific campus is free.
