DELAND, Fla. – Hatter men's soccer will travel the farthest it has gone during the season in program history to face a pair of California teams in UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. This will also be the first time Stetson has faced the Highlanders and the Titans.
 
Stetson faces off with Riverside on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 10 p.m., local time in DeLand, but 7 p.m., on site at the UCR Soccer Stadium. Sunday, the Hatters start at 8 p.m. EDT, 5 p.m. at Titan Stadium.
 
"Riverside is a really good playing team," head coach Emmett Rutkowski said "they have had some really good teams the past few years, that's one of the reasons I wanted to play them. They're competitive in their conference and are a dynamic team in the build. I'm excited to play them because it's fun to go outside the region and play different teams that we are not used to playing."
 
Riverside's record is slightly deceptive at 1-3. This past weekend, the Highlanders dropped both matches with ASUN member Jacksonville downing UCR 4-1. Two days later, UCF beat the west coast squad 3-0. The deceptive part is that Riverside traveled East to face both Florida teams. The other two results, a 4-1 victory over St. Thomas and a 2-0 defeat at Utah Valley, show a much more competitive team. Stetson on Friday and Sunday's match against San Diego will be the first weekend home series for the Highlanders.
 
"They beat a Pac-12 school in Cal earlier this year, they're on a roll," head coach Emmett Rutkowski said in reference to Fullerton. "George [Kuntz] is pretty big in coaching circles and they average over 10-11 wins per year. It's going to be two tough opponents, both teams are expansive in their build and play. We have been playing a lot of direct teams so far, it'll be good for us to have a bit of a change in style and geography."
 
Fullerton was undefeated until two days ago when San Francisco slipped in the lone goal of the match 35 seconds prior to halftime. In their three previous matches, CSF outscored opponents 14-to-1. The single goal was scored by Cal in the 73rd minute when the Titans were leading by three. Prior to facing Stetson on Sunday, Fullerton will welcome St. Francis (Pa.) to Titan Stadium Friday night.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.