MARCOS, Calif. – All fall sports for Cal State San Marcos Athletics will finally swing into action this week.
Men’s golf will begin its fall season at the Sonoma State Invitational at the Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma on Monday and Tuesday.
Men’s soccer will return to The Cage as it plays its final home non-conference game against Hawai’I Hilo on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Cougars will up non-conference play on Saturday when they visit Point Loma for a 4 p.m. contest.
After handing then-No. 1 UC San Diego its first regular-season loss last year at The Cage, CSUSM will look to do it again as the Cougars host No. 3 UCSD in a non-conference matchup on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. From there, CSUSM will travel to Biola for its final non-conference game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Volleyball will begin California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Friday and Saturday as it heads north to San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay. The Cougars will take on the Gators on Friday at 7 p.m. before concluding the road trip against the Pioneers on Saturday at 5 p.m.
MEN’S GOLF
Monday, Sept. 16 – Tuesday, Sept. 17
Sonoma State Invitational
Petaluma, Calif. – Rooster Run Golf Club
CSUSM TOP FIVE
1. Ryan Bisharat (San Diego/Cathedral Catholic HS)
2. Justin Vrzich (El Cajon/Cuyamaca College)
3. Matthew Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS)
4. Matt Pennington (Carlsbad/La Costa Canyon HS)
5. Connor O’Hern (Tustin/Orange Coast College)
TEAMS
Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State San Marcos, Chico State, Dominican, Holy Names, Menlo, Sonoma State, Westminster, William Jessup
THIS SEASON •Six Cougars including seniors Ryan Bisharat, Ben Hume and Justin Vrzich return for the 2019-20 season.
•Four will be wearing Cougar Blue for the first time – Long Beach State transfer Connor Nelson and Orange Coast Junior College transfer Connor O’Hern join freshmen Matt Pennington and Sam Theijs.
•CSUSM last competed in the Sonoma State Invitational in 2014 when the Cougars placed fifth out of 14 teams.
•The Cougars first appearance in 2006 where they placed third out of nine teams.
THE HUTTON FILE •Head coach Greg Hutton has been at the helm of the men’s program since the 2010-11 season and was named the women’s head coach in 2014.
•The CSUSM women’s team was the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship runner-up, led by National Champion Jaime Jacob.
•Under Hutton’s leadership, the women’s team won CSUSM’s first CCAA Championship in school history in 2018 and the Cougars defended their title in 2019.
•In CSUSM’s first year of being a full-fledged member of the NCAA Division II in 2017-18, the Cougar men’s and women’s golf teams each qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships.
MEN’S SOCCER
Wednesday, Sept. 18 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM (1-3) vs. Hawai’I Hilo (0-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
Live Stats | Watch Live
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 4 p.m.
CSUSM at Point Loma (2-1)
San Diego, Calif. – PLNU Soccer Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM took road losses to Biola and Concordia Irvine last week.
•Parker Hodges scored his second goal of the season while Jacob Johnston scored his first.
COUGARS AND VULCANS SQUARE OFF FOR FIRST TIME •CSUSM and Hawai’I Hilo will meet for the very time on Wednesday.
•This will be the Vulcans’ first game of the season.
•UHH was picked to finish 11th in the 2019 PacWest Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing 4-12 last season.
•The Vulcans are fielding 26 new players while returning nine.
SATURDAY AT POINT LOMA •Saturday’s game at Point Loma will be the first between the Cougars and Sea Lions since 2014.
•CSUSM is 7-1-1 in the all-time series.
•The Cougars have won the past six meetings against the Sea Lions.
•At Point Loma, CSUSM is 3-1.
•In their lone game last week, PLNU took a 3-1 road loss to Azusa Pacific.
•All four of the Sea Lions’ goals this season have come from Hunter Loomis and David Achaerandio.
•PLNU was picked to finish third in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing last season with a 6-3-2 conference record and a 10-6-2 overall record.
THE PULVERS FILE •This season marks the 14th season for head coach Ron Pulvers at CSUSM.
•Pulvers has a 112-88-23 (.554) record as CSUSM’s head men’s coach.
•In 24 seasons as a collegiate head men’s soccer coach, Pulvers holds a 238-159-37 (.591) career record.
•He was 84-42-24 (.640) while in charge of the CSUSM women’s program.
•From 2006-13, Pulvers led both the CSUSM men’s and women’s soccer teams.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 19 – 12:30 p.m.
CSUSM (1-1-1) vs. No. 3 UC San Diego (4-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
Live Stats | Watch Live
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 7 p.m.
CSUSM at Biola (1-3)
La Mirada, Calif. – Al Barbour Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM took a 1-0 overtime loss at Azusa Pacific last Thursday before tying Simon Fraser 0-0 in double overtime on Saturday.
•The Cougars outshot SFU 16-3 while holding a 12-1 advantage for corner kicks.
•CSUSM’s goals-against average of .355 leads the CCAA and ranks 35th nationally.
COUGARS WELCOME UCSD FOR NON-CONFERENCE PLAY •CSUSM earned its first-ever victory over UCSD last season by defeating the then-No. 1 Tritons 1-0 at The Cage.
•Lauren Perry had the game-winning goal for the Cougars while Yesenia Betancourt earned the shutout with five saves.
•The Cougars are 1-1-1 when facing the Tritons at home but are 1-6-2 overall.
•The Tritons posted a 3-2 win on the road against Azusa Pacific over the weekend
•Earlier today, UCSD defeated Simon Fraser 3-0 to move to 4-0 on the season.
•Eight different Tritons have scored at least one goal this season with Natalie Saddic leading the way with two.
•UCSD was picked to repeat as the CCAA Champions after winning the league championship and advancing to the NCAA Division II semifinals last season.
FINAL NON-CONFERENCE GAME AT BIOLA •CSUSM will head to La Mirada to Biola in its final non-conference game of 2019 on Saturday.
•CSUSM and Biola tied 1-1 last year in San Marcos.
•The Cougars are 3-5-3 against the Eagles in the all-time series.
•At home, CSUSM is 1-1-3 against Biola.
•The Eagles took a 0-1 loss at Seattle Pacific last Thursday before concluding its four-game road trip with a 2-0 win at Concordia Portland.
•This will be Biola’s first home game of the season.
•Biola was picked to finish fourth in the 2019 PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing last season with a 5-4-2 conference record and a 7-7-4 overall record.
THE RENNEISEN FILE •Head coach Bobby Renneisen enters his sixth year in charge of the women’s program and 14th overall at CSUSM
•Renneisen’s 2018 team made its second consecutive CCAA Tournament appearance in 2018 while also handing No. 1 UC San Diego its lone regular-season loss.
•Between 2006-13, Renneisen was an assistant/associate head coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams.
•As the women’s head coach, Renneisen is 37-31-24 (.533) for his career with the Cougars.
VOLLEYBALL
Friday, Sept. 20 – 7 p.m.
CSUSM (6-3) at San Francisco State (6-2)
San Francisco – Main Gym
Live Stats | Watch Live
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 5 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal State East Bay (1-7)
Hayward, Calif. – Pioneer Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars ended the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase on a positive note with a sweep over Biola after dropping their first three matches.
•CSUSM’s sweep over the Eagles was the first victory in program history as Biola won in three sets in the two teams’ first four meetings.
•As a team, CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA in kills per set (13.73) assists per set (12.97), blocks per set (2.20) and digs per set (16.83).
•Grecia Cordero-Barr is the conference leader in digs per set (5.85) and total digs (158), while posting a national ranking of 20th and 25th, respectively.
CCAA OPENER AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE •The Cougars are 2-3 against San Francisco State in the all-time series.
•CSUSM was triumphant last season with a three-set victory over the Gators in San Marcos.
•SF State started the season with a 2-2 record at Point Loma’s Seaside Invitational.
•The Gators went 4-0 in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase that they hosted.
•Prior to facing the Cougars, the Gators will host Holy Names in their final non-conference match.
•SF State was picked to finish first in the North Division of the 2019 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
BATTLE AT CAL STATE EAST BAY •The all-time series between CSUSM and CSUEB is tied at 3-3.
•The Cougars will look to snap the streak of the home team being victorious in the series.
•In their last meeting, the Pioneers defeated CSUSM in four sets in the opening round of the 2018 CCAA Championship on the campus of Stanislaus State in Turlock, California.
•The Pioneers also competed in the Point Loma Seaside Invitational and went 0-4 in the opening weekend.
• CSUEB was able to snag a victory at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, sweeping Alaska Fairbanks while dropping the other three matches the Pioneers played.
THE LEONARD FILE •Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her ninth season in charge of the Cougar volleyball team, a program she has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010.
•Leonard has a 166-108 (.606) record as CSUSM’s head coach.
•In 16 seasons as a collegiate head volleyball coach, Leonard holds a 258-234 (.524) career record.
•Leonard was CSUSM’s first-ever CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a third-place finish in the overall standings in the 2017 season.
