Sept. 7, 2016 LINKS: 2016 Men's Soccer Tickets | #LIONSTRONG | Give to LMU Athletics | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES - After sweeping its opening games at Sullivan Field, the LMU men's soccer team will close out its four-game homestand with matchups against Sacramento State and UC Davis this weekend.
Friday's matchup against Sacramento will kick off at 7 p.m. while Sunday's contest versus UC Davis will commence at 4 p.m.
Last Time Out
With just over three minutes of regulation remaining against Grand Canyon on Monday, Mark Dotseth launched a free kick from midfield that sailed into the box and the Lopes keeper left his post to punch the ball away. The ball deflected off the keeper and bounced towards Antonio Porreco, who corralled the ball with a touch before bending a shot with his back towards the goal that fell into the back left post.
Recap: Porreco's Heroics Lift Men's Soccer Over Grand Canyon
No Place Like Home
For the second straight year, LMU has opened up its Sullivan Field slate with a pair of victories. The Lions have posted a 19-6-2 mark at home the past four seasons and have never dropped more than three contests during that span.
Back in Action
After missing the 2015 season due to injury, Porreco netted his second career goal against Grand Canyon, his first since Sept. 26, 2014.
Adrien Perez also marked his return to the field after missing the majority of the 2015 season at Syracuse, scoring the back of the net from 25 feet out to tie the game up.
Clocking In
Mark Dotseth and Cole Souza are the only two field players who have been on the pitch every minute so far. The duo logged the most minutes on the team a season ago as Souza played every minute possible (1,626) while Dotseth ranked second with 1,559.
Meanwhile, Collin Parte has played every minute in net so far, recording a .097 GAA and 23 saves.
| Date | Time: | Friday, Sept. 9 | 7 pm (PT) |
| Where: | Sullivan Field |
| The Match-up: | LMU: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
SACRAMENTO STATE: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS |
| Live Stats: | StatBroadcast |
| Live Stream: | LMU Sports Network |
Scouting Sacramento State
The Hornets have dropped its two opening contests of the season, with its first in a 3-1 defeat at CSU Bakersfield and followed being blanked, 3-0, by Pacific on Sunday.
Junior Paul Geyer, an All-Big West honorable mention a season ago, has been the only Hornet to find the back of the net this season. .
The Series
Sacramento holds the 3-2 edge in the all-time series, though the Lions have gotten the upper hand in the last two matchups in shutout fashion.
| Date | Time: | Sunday, Sept. 11 | 4 p.m. (PT) |
| Where: | Sullivan Field |
| The Match-up: | LMU: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
FLORIDA GULF COAST: ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS |
| Live Stats: | StatBroadcast |
| Live Stream: | LMU Sports Network |
Scouting UC Davis
The Aggies stand at 1-1-1 on the season and are most recently coming off a 2-1 defeat at the hands of San Francisco.
Sophomore Kristian Heptner leads the Aggies with two scores on the season, both coming in a 2-0 blanking of Pacific on Sept. 1.
The Series
UC Davis holds the edge in the series, 1-0-2, all three matchups have gone into overtime and with the previous two matches ending in 1-1 draws. UC Davis will come to Los Angeles for the third time in four years.Antonio Porreco tallied his first career goal.
Preseason Predictions
The Lions were predicted to finish fourth in the 2016 West Coast Conference preseason poll, as selected by the leagues eight head coaches.
Junior forward Alvaro Madrigal earned a nod to the preseason All-WCC squad after earning a spot on the All-WCC first team and the NSCAA All-Far West Region third team a season ago. Madrigal led the Lions in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) during his breakout sophomore season.
Related Link: Lions Earn First Place Vote, Madrigal Named Preseason All-WCC.
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