Toros Move Up to 8th in Latest NSCAA/adidas Men's Soccer Poll
CSUDH continues road trip against cross-town rival Cal State L.A. Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
September 20, 2006

Carson, CA -- Despite dropping two of three CCAA Conference games last week, the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s soccer team jumped from No. 15 to No. 8 in this week’s NSCAA/adidas Top 25 poll, it was announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The Toros, sporting a 7-2-0, 3-2-0 CCAA record, dropped a 1-0 double-overtime contest at UC San Diego on September 12 before losing an identical 1-0 decision at Chico State three days later. Against Cal State Stanislaus on September 17, however, CSUDH turned the tables and netted a 1-0 victory on Warrior Field, with the game-winner coming on an Andrew Marinez (Santa Monica, CA/Santa Monica College) penalty kick just minutes into the second half.

Entering tomorrow’s contest at Cal State L.A., CSUDH finds itself amongst the leaders in the CCAA Conference, led by senior keeper Kyle Polak (Huntington Beach, CA/CS Fullerton), who leads the CCAA in goals against average, save percentage and shutouts, and is 6th in saves. Offensively, junior Sammy Rivas (Long Beach, CA/CS Fullerton) is 2nd in points and assists, 3rd in game-winning goals and 5th in goals scored, while fellow junior Marinez also is 3rd in game-winning goals.

While the Toros were the only team from the CCAA to be ranked, Sonoma State received votes after improving to 6-3 overall, riding a 5-game winning streak. Defending NCAA Champion Fort Lewis (Colo.), who bested the Toros in a 2005 NCAA Quarterfinal, remains the top-ranked team in the nation with a perfect 8-0-0 record.

CSUDH plays the 4th of its 5-consecutive road contests tomorrow afternoon as it travels up the 710 Freeway to battle cross-town rival Cal State L.A., with first kick scheduled for 4:30 p.m.