As announced earlier week by the United Soccer Coaches, the Humboldt State Lumberjacks are number five in this week’s United Soccer Coaches West Region Men’s Soccer Rankings.  The Lumberjacks started their 2021 season by going 2-0 over the Labor Day Weekend with a 2-0 victory over Westminster (Utah) and a 4-0 victory over Northwest Nazarene in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 Humboldt State, under the guidance of head coach Fred Jungemann is one of five members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) that are in this week’s West Region top ten.  Besides HSU being number five, Chico State is six followed by Sonoma State at seven, Cal State Dominguez Hills at eight and Cal State San Bernardino at ten.  Azusa Pacific holds the top spot in this week’s rankings.

 The West Region consists of schools from the CCAA, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and PacWest Conference. 

 The Lumberjacks had received stellar performances from their defense.  The key goalkeepers and defenders were Adrian Gallardo, Christian Gonzalez, Sean Tucker, Ethan Conaty, Cole Falco and Dylan Tovani.  The back to back shutouts by the Lumberjacks was the first time since 2017 that they have posted back to back shutouts.  Gallardo posted two shutouts and recorded nine saves in the two victories for the ‘Jacks. 

 Beside HSU’s defense, the Lumberjacks had scored six goals paced by CCAA Player of the Week honoree Marco Silveira.  The senior forward scored two goals and had two assists including the game-winning goal in the Lumberjacks’ 2-0 win over Westminster.  Also scoring goals for the ‘Jacks were Alejandro Lopez, Nicolas Herrera Land, Dylan Tovani and Daniel Adeyeye.  Silveira, Lopez, Herrera Land and Gou Nitta recorded assists for the ‘Jacks in their two matches.

 Humboldt State continues their four-match road trip with a pair of matches this weekend in Hayward, Calif., at Pioneer Stadium on the campus of Cal State East Bay.  HSU will face Hawai’i Pacific this Friday, September 10 at 7pm and Holy Names this Sunday, September 12 at 2pm.  You can view the live stream by going to www.ccaanetwork.com/HSU.

 The ‘Jacks will have its home opener on Friday, September 17 at 3pm, when they entertain Simpson University in a non-conference match-up at College Creek Field.

 United Soccer Coaches/NCAA Division II Men’s West Region Rankings