SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team looks to bounce back and earn its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division win as it closes out its four-game road trip against California (Pa.) 1 p.m. Saturday at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility.

WATCH LIVE
Fans can follow along to Saturday's game live for free via the link below provided by California Athletic Communications.

GAME 8 of 17
Opponent: California (Pa.)
Date: Saturday – 1 p.m.
Location: California, Pennsylvania
Venue: Phillipsburg Soccer Faclity
Live Stats: Link
In-Game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 27-23-5
Current Streak: T1
Last Played: Nov. 1, 2025 (Tied 0-0)

SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock and California first met in 1984, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Since then, SRU and Cal have played 55 times overall in the past 41 years. The Rock own a 27-23-5 overall record and 10-13-3 record on the road against California.

Last season, Slippery took a 3-0 win over the Vulcans at James Egli Field, followed by a 0-0 draw at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility that ultimately kept it outside of the PSAC Tournament. Gabin Lonjard scored a brace, along with a goal from Kaden Reynolds for Slippery Rock with Zsombor Retfalvi, Aashi Pandher and Massimo Cuda earning one assist each.

TOP ACTIVE SRU PLAYERS AGAINST CALIFORNIA
Gabin Lonjard – 5 GP: 3 G, 5 SH, 3 SOG, 433 MIN
Aashi Pandher – 5 GP: 2 A, 2 SH, 1 SOG, 315 MIN
Kaden Reynolds – 3 GP: 1 G, 1 A, 7 SH, 4 SOG, 156 MIN
Massimo Cuda – 2 GP: 1 A, 5 SH, 4 SOG, 95 MIN
Ryan Hanes – 6 GP: 5 SH, 3 SOG, 387 MIN
 

TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock	2026 Stats	Vulcans
2-2-3	Overall Record	2-3-3
0-1-0	Conference Record	1-0-0
1.86	Goals per Game	1.38
1.00	Opp. Goals per Game	2.13
+6	Season Goal Differential	-6
17.9	Shots per Game	11.5
8.9	Opp. Shots per Game	14.5
8.7	SOG per Game	4.6
5.1	Opp. SOG per Game	5.6
1.7	Assists per Game	1.4
5.4	Corners per Game	4.3
14.1	Fouls per Game	9.9
4.1	Saves per Game	3.5

ROCK BY THE NUMBERS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
Overall Record: 2-2-3
PSAC West Record: 0-1-0
Home Record: 1-0-1
Away Record: 1-2-2
PSAC West Rank: T-4 of 6
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Ninth season at SRU (48-61-23) | 12^th season overall (55-103-26)
            Alma Mater: Slippery Rock '98

LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock dropped its PSAC West opener against Seton Hill University, 2-0, Wednesday at Dicks Sporting Goods Field.

Reynolds led SRU with five shots, including two on goal. Pandher (3) and Lonjard (2) also took multiple shots for The Rock. Boele Zwartele and Jimmy Irani rounded out Slippery Rock's shot takers with one each.

Troy Nine made a career-high eight saves in the game, with three coming in the first half and five in the second frame.

Along with Nine, Patrick Tierney, Dylan Greggs and Fynn Uebele each played 90 minutes in the field for SRU.

The Griffins led the game in shots, 16-12, as well as a three-shot edge in shots on goal (10-7), while The Rock had an 8-7 advantage in saves.

THE ROCK IN THE PSAC WEST
In the last six seasons, Slippery Rock has played 51 games against PSAC West opponents (postseason included). The Rock hold a 20-26-5 record during that span with a -17 goal differential (79-96).

TIERNEY RECIEVES PSAC WEST DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
Tierney, earned The Rock their third consecutive PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week with the first of his career, the conference office announced Monday.

Tierney, a senior from Chester, England, is the 24^th different men's soccer player to win a PSAC weekly award since 2004, accounting for 37 total PSAC Weekly awards.

Tierney helped Slippery Rock to a 1-0-1 week overall, totaling one goal on one shot in 119 minutes of play (59.5 mpg).

The senior played the full 90 minutes and scored the game-tying goal in the 79^th minute of a 1-1 draw at Shippensburg in PSAC crossover action. Tierney also started and saw the field for 29 minutes in a 7-1 win at Daemen.

LEADING THE ROCK
After seven games, Reynolds paces The Rock with nine points on four goals and one assist. Zwartele follows Reynolds with six points on three goals. Greggs, Irani, Ryan Hanes, Caleb Alldredge and Jonathan Anthony each have one goal on the season as well, while Pandher leads SRU with four assists.

Reynolds also leads SRU in shots with 33 and shots on goal with 15. Pandher follows Reynolds with 22 shots and 10 on goal, while Lonjard rounds out Slippery Rock's top three shot takers with 10.

Slippery Rock's minutes leader in the field in 2026 is Irani, who has totaled 574 minutes (82 mpg).

IN GOAL FOR THE ROCK
Nine has played all but 14 minutes in goal so far in 2026 for The Rock. Nine has a 1.02 goals against average along with a .800 save percentage with 28 saves and one clean sheet. Nine has only surrendered seven goals this season.

Dylan Bliss has appeared in one game this season, making one save and surrendering no goals in 14 minutes of play.

WHERE THE ROCK STANDS IN THE NATION … AND THE PSAC
* PSAC STATS IN ITALICS
Team:
SOG/game – 7^th – 8.7 – 1^st
Shots/game – 8^th – 17.9 – 1^st
Save % – 28^th – .806 – 3^rd
Assists/game – 50^th – 1.7 – 5^th
Goal Differential – 56^th – +6 – 2^nd
Points/game – 54^th – 5.43 – 4^th
Goals against average – 55^th – 1.02 – 4^th
Goals/game – 60^th – 1.86 – 4^th

Individuals:
Shots/game – 3^rd –  Kaden Reynolds – 4.7 – 1^st
SOG/game – 9^th – Kaden Reynolds – 2.1 – 1^st
Assists/game – 19^th – Aashi Pandher – 0.6 – 2^nd
Shots/game – 26^th – Aashi Pandher – 3.1 – 4^th
Save % – 55^th  – Troy Nine – 0.800 – 4^th
Goals/game – 56^th – Kaden Reynolds – 0.6 – 5^th
Game-winning goals – 71^st – Dylan Greggs – 1 – 3^rd
Game-winning goals – 71^st – Kaden Reynolds – 1 – 3^rd

VULCANS BY THE NUMBERS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
Overall Record: 2-3-3
PSAC West Record: 1-0-0
Home Record: 1-2-1
Away Record: 1-1-2
PSAC West Rank: T-1 of 6
Streak: W1
Head Coach: Emedin Sabic | 13^th season at California (63-120-25, .363)
        Alma Mater: California (Pa.) '07

CALIFORNIA SCOUTING REPORT
The Vulcans kicked off their season with a 2-1 victory over Wheeling University, but them wet winless in their next six games before opening PSAC West play with a 2-0 win over Pitt-Johnstown.

Jamie Marcelo Espinosa leads California with 11 points on four goals and three assists. Espinosa paces the Vulcans in goals and assists as well. Ryan Moessner (3) and Seth Basinger (2) have also scored multiple goals for Cal. Mauricio Montenegro Flores (2) joins Espinosa as California player with multiple assists.

Junior goalkeeper Justin Brink has played every minute so far for the Vulcans, holding a 2.13 GAA and a .595 save percentage with one clean sheet on 25 saves.

LOOKING AHEAD
Slippery Rock returns home for the first time since Sept. 9 with a PSAC West matchup against Lock Haven 4 p.m. Sept. 30 at James Egli Field.




To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official Athletic Communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).