SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's soccer team (3-0-1) will conclude the first half of its six-game road trip when it visits Biola (1-2-1) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Westmont (1-0-2) on Saturday at noon.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM doled out a pair of 1-0 shutouts at home against Concordia University Irvine and on the road at Vanguard.
• Against the Golden Eagles, Ryan Meinardus scored his third goal of the season.
• Brooklyn Baker broke up the scoreless game late against the Lions for his second goal of the year.
• Tony Flores had 11 combined saves in the two shutouts.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM has the 14th-best goals-against average in the nation at .500 and ranks third in the CCAA. Keeper Tony Flores ranks 20th nationally.
• The Cougars' .889 save percentage ranks 15th nationally and second in the CCAA. Flores ranks 25th nationally at .882.
• CSUSM is committing the second-fewest fouls per game in the league at 10.75.
• The Cougars' .511 shot accuracy ranks second in the conference.
• Ryan Meinardus' two game-winning goals are tied for the most in the nation with Cal Poly Pomona's Woody Angell.
• Meinardus has the sixth-best shot accuracy in the nation at .800 while putting the 16th-most shot on goal per game at 2.00.

PRIMETIME AT BIOLA

• CSUSM will play its first night game of the year on Wednesday night.
• CSUSM is 6-5-4 in the all-time series against Biola.
• The Cougars won last year's meeting with the Eagles by a score of 3-1 in San Marcos.
• CSUSM and Biola have played each other every year since 2009 with the exception of the canceled 2020 season.
• Last week, Biola earned a 3-0 win at Colorado School of Mines on Thursday before ending its road trip to Colorado with a 1-1 draw at Regis on Saturday.
• Wednesday will be the Eagles first home game since their season-opening loss to No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona on Sept. 5.
• Biola is 0-2-0 against CCA A competition this season with losses to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino.
• Ethan Hardin leads the Eagles with two goals and four points.
• Biola is taking 7.25 shots per game, ranking 10th in the PacWest and 173rd nationally. Only 3.50 of those shots per game are on goal, ranking ninth in the conference and 154th nationally.
• The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the 2024 PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Biola returns 22 players from last year's roster, including four all-conference selections.

SATURDAY AT WESTMONT

• CSUSM will visit Westmont for the first time since 2011 on Saturday.
• The Cougars and Warriors are knotted at 3-3-1 in the all-time series.
• CSUSM and Westmont battled to a 2-2 draw in last year's meeting in San Marcos.
• The Cougars haven't lost to the Warriors since 2010 in Santa Barbara.
• This game is part of Westmont's Heritage Club Classic that also includes San Francisco State and Vanguard.
• Before facing the Cougars, the Warriors will host Cal State East Bay on Wednesday afternoon.
• Westmont opened the season with a 1-1 draw to Simon Fraser before earning a 3-0 win at Saint Martin's at the beginning of the month.
• The Warriors' last game was a 2-2 draw at UC Santa Barbara this past Saturday night.
• Erik Guerrero leads the Warriors with five points and two goals.
• Westmont leads the PacWest in assists per game (2.00), points per game (6.00), scoring offense (2.00) and shots per game (15.67).
• The Warriors were picked to finish second in the 2024 PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing second in the league last year.
• Westmont returns 21 players, including four All-PacWest selections.

2024 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM was picked to finish seventh in the 2024 CCAA Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars' roster of 29 includes 19 returners and 10 newcomers.
• Curtis Collazos was named to 2024 CCAA Men's Soccer Watchlist after earning All-CCAA first team honors in 2023.

THE PULVERS FILE

• This season marks the 19th season for head coach Ron Pulvers at CSUSM.
• Pulvers has a 137-122-35 (.526) record as CSUSM's head men's coach.
• In 26 seasons as a collegiate head men's soccer coach, Pulvers holds a 263-193-49 (.569) 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.