Men's Soccer | 9/8/2015 1:12:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO– In the first National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division II Men's West Region Rankings, the SF State Gators are eighth. Seattle Pacific holds the top spot with Northwest Nazarene University, Sonoma State and Cal State Monterey Bay rounding out the top five.
The Gators are coming off a 2-0 weekend in which they recorded back to back 1-0 non-conference wins over Missouri-St. Louis and Concordia (Ore.).
In their 1-0 win over Missouri-St. Louis,
Jakob Velega connected on a pass from
Sam Merritt in the 52
nd minute on what proved to be the game-winner. In his first start in goal as a Gator,
Emmanuel Jimenez recorded 5 saves in goal for the victors. Then on Sunday, Merritt connected on a free kick from 20 yards out in the 43
rd minute for the game-winner. Jimenez had three saves in goal en route to his second consecutive shutout.
Rounding out the top ten NSCAA/NCAA Division II Men's West Region Rankings: 5.) Cal State L.A., 6.) Stanislaus State, 7.) Western Washington,
8.) SF State, 9.) Cal State San Bernardino and 10.) Cal Poly Pomona.
The Gators will return to the pitch this Thursday and Saturday, September 10 and 12 as they will participate in the Kezar Classic at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. SF State will face Dominican University of California this Thursday at 2pm. Then on Saturday, the Gators will face Academy of Art at 4pm.
Dominican dropped its 2015 season opener this past Thursday in Hayward, 3-0 to Cal State East Bay. The Penguins were outshot by the Pioneers 6-1. Patrick Rabbitt and Oscar O'Con each shared time in goal for Dominican.
Academy of Art is 1-0-1 after facing two area California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Schools. The Urban Knights lost 3-2 in Turlock this past Thursday to Stanislaus State. Then this past Saturday, they defeated Cal State East Bay 2-1 in overtime in Hayward. Kirstof Urbanyl scored two of the Urban Knights five games and also assisted on one of them. Kevin Mendez has a 1.99 goals against average in goal for the Urban Knights with 11 saves.
After this weekend, the Gators will return home next Tuesday, September 15 at 3pm for a non-conference match with Holy Names University at Cox Stadium.
Region Rankings -----
Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
