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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men’s soccer team closes out its regular season road slate 1 p.m. Saturday at California (Pa.) in a must-win game.
Slippery Rock enters the match with a 6-7-2 overall record and a 3-4-1 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division, while California holds a 2-11-1 record overall with a 0-8-0 mark in the PSAC West.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
Fans can follow along Saturday’s game live for free via the link below provided by California Athletic Communications.
GAME 16 of 17
Opponent: California
Date: Saturday – 1 p.m.
Location: California, Pennsylvania
Venue: Phillipsburg Soccer Facility
Live Stats: Link
In-Game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 27-23-4
Current Streak: W2
Last Played: Oct. 11, 2025 (SRU won 3-0)
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock and California first met in 1984, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Since then, Slippery Rock and California have played 54 times overall in the past 40 years. Slippery Rock owns a 27-23-4 overall record and 10-13-2 record on the road against Cal.
THE FIRST TIME AROUND
Slippery Rock claimed a 3-0 at home win over California in their first meeting this season. Gabin Lonjard scored a brace and Kaden Reynolds rounded out the Slippery Rock’s goal scoring, while Zsombor Retfalvi, Aashi Pandher and Massimo Cuda all picked up one assist. Rock goalkeeper Troy Nine made three saves in the victory.
TEAM COMPARISON
The Rock
2025 Stats
Vulcans
6-7-2
Overall Record
2-11-1
3-4-1
Conference Record
0-8-0
1.13
Goals per Game
0.86
1.73
Opp. Goals per Game
2.21
-9
Season Goal Differential
-19
10.9
Shots per Game
9.8
11.4
Opp. Shots per Game
15.8
4.7
SOG per Game
4.2
4.7
Opp. SOG per Game
6.6
1.1
Assists per Game
0.7
3.7
Corners per Game
3.9
12.1
Fouls per Game
11.1
2.9
Saves per Game
4.4
TOP ACTIVE SRU PLAYERS AGAINST CALIFORNIA
Gabin Lonjard – 5 GP: 3 G, 5 SH, 3 SOG, 433 MIN
Colton Spence – 3 GP: 2 G, 1 A, 2 SH, 2 SOG, 270 MIN
Aashi Pandher – 5 GP: 2 A, 2 SH, 1 SOG, 315 MIN
Kaden Reynolds – 2 GP: 1 G, 1 A, 3 SH, 2 SOG, 69 MIN
Massimo Cuda – 1 GP: 1 A, 4 SH, 3 SOG, 33 MIN
Ryan Hanes – 5 GP: 3 SH, 1 SOG, 297 MIN
Rock By The Numbers
Overall Record: 6-7-2
PSAC West Record: 3-4-1
Home Record: 5-3-0
Away Record: 1-4-2
PSAC West Rank: 4th of 6
Streak: L2
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Eighth Season at SRU (45-59-19, .443)
Alma Mater: Slippery Rock ’98
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock dropped a road tilt Wednesday, 7-0, at No. 16 Gannon University.
Reynolds led Slippery Rock with three shots, each reaching the goal. Retfalvi (2) and Colton Swanson (1) rounded out the SRU shot takers.
Alvey Kaufman made two saves in the loss.
Gannon ended the match with a 20-6 advantage in shots and a 9-4 edge in shots on goal.
STANDINGS CHECK
The match against California marks the ninth of 10 PSAC West games for SRU. As the regular season begins to wind down, Slippery Rock sits in fourth place in the divisional standings behind Gannon, Seton Hill University and Lock Haven University.
The top three teams in both the PSAC West and PSAC East standings at the conclusion of the season qualify for the conference tournament.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Slippery Rock finds itself currently outside of postseason contention with 10 points: just five points in back of Lock Haven for third place in league standings. Slippery Rock must win its final two games to have a chance at a PSAC Tournament spot. If SRU does win out, it will need Lock Haven to take no more than one point in its final two games against Gannon adn Seton Hill.
FIVE IN A ROW
Reynolds has scored five goals in the last six games, and the last five goals overall for SRU. The last time a Slippery Rock player scored five straight goals for the team was in 2009, when Jeremy Deighton scored five straight goals against Lock Haven, California and West Chester University.
LEADING THE ROCK
Reynolds has paced The Rock offense with 17 points and eight goals. Retfalvi (7) and Cornelis Dedecker (8) round out The Rock’s top three scorers.
Retfalvi, Lonjard and Jimmy Irani trail Reynolds for the Slippery Rock goal lead with two each. Dedecker, Pandher and Patrick Tierney all have one tally for The Rock.
Dedecker leads all SRU players with five assists each, while Retfalvi trails the forward by one helper. Pandher and Cuda sit behind the two forwards by two and three assists respectively. Irani and Swanson have both collected one assist.
Reynolds lead SRU with 29 shots through 15 games. Pandher trails the forward by five, while Dedekcer has accumulated 20 shots. Reynolds leads The Rock with 16 shots on goal.
Lonjard leads The Rock in minutes played with 1,297. Lonjard’s defensive partner’s Tierney and Colton Spence trail the junior in minutes with 1,272 and 1,241 respectively.
THE ROCK IN GOAL
Slippery Rock has played three different goalkeepers during its 2025 campaign. Kaufman and Nine have split time with Dylan Bliss appearing in one game this season. Kaufman owns a 3-6-2 record with 36 saves on a .610 save percentage, while allowing 23 goals for a 2.01 goals against average.
Nine is 3-1-0 with seven saves on a .700 save percentage, while allowing three goals for a 0.86 GAA with two shutouts.
DIVISION II LEADERS
Reynolds ranks 21st in Division II with three game-winning goals.
PSAC LEADERS
Slippery Rock has multiple players near the top of PSAC leaderboards so far this season. Reynolds ranks third in the PSAC in goals with eight and seventh in the conference in points with 17.
Dedecker currently sits fifth in the PSAC in assists with five helpers, while Retfalvi ranks 10th with four assists. Dedecker also ranks sixth in the conference in assists per game with 0.33.
Reynolds leads conference with three game-winning goals, while Irani sits fifth in that category with two game-winners.
Kaufman ranks fifth in the PSAC in saves per game with 3.00 and fifth in shutouts with three.
TURNING DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE
In past seasons, Slippery Rock has been able to turn defense into offense against the Vulcans. Defenders Lonjard (3) and Spence (2) are two of three players on SRU’s roster to have scored a goal against Cal. The Rock previously have used set pieces to take advantage of matchups in the box with their Spence’s size, as well as Lonjard’s speed down the left wing.
VULCANS BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 2-11-1
PSAC West Record: 0-8-0
Home Record: 1-5-1
Away Record: 1-6-0
PSAC West Rank: 6th of 6
Streak: L9
Head Coach: Emedin Sabic | 12th season at California (61-116-21, .361)
Alma Mater: California (Pa.) ’07
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
CALIFORNIA SCOUTING REPORT
The Vulcans have struggled in 2025. California holds a 2-11-1 record overall and an 0-8-0 record in the PSAC West. California started out its season by defeating Wheeling University and Malone University by a combined score of 5-0. Since then, the Vulcans have picked up one draw.
Senior forward Brady Olsen leads California with four goals and nine points. Eight other Vulcans have one goal.
Ben Sauerländer, Jamie Marcelo Espinosa and Seth Basinger pace the Vulcans with two assists each. Three other California players have one assists.
AJ Visco has started all 14 games in goal for the Vulcans. Visco owns a 2-10-0 record with a 2.15 GAA and a .646 save percentage.
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns home to finish the regular season 2 p.m. Nov. 6 against Pitt-Johnstown. The Rock will be looking for the season-sweep over the Mountain Cats, as SRU took down UPJ, 2-0, earlier this season at the Pitt-Johnstown Soccer 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).