Kangaroos Head to Colorado for WAC Tournament, Face Bakersfield
11/13/2013 1:17:00 PM | Men's Soccer
#2 Bakersfield 'Runners (8-8-2) vs. #7 UMKC Kangaroos (4-10-4)
Date / Time: Nov. 14 - 4:00 p.m. CT
Site: U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado
Webcast: WAC.tv
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com (via Air Force)
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos #WACMsoc
Series: CSUB leads 1-0
Home: 0-0-0
Away: 0-1-0
Neutral: 0-0-0
Last Meeting: CSUB won 2-0 in Bakersfield, 10/27
Benben vs. Opponent: 0-1-0
The Game
Kansas City heads to its first ever WAC Tournament on Thursday, and will battle second-seeded Bakersfield at 4:00 p.m. CT in the quarterfinal. The 'Roos are the No. 7 seed and look to pull off the upset of the Roadrunners, and snap a five-game skid. CSUB won the regular season meeting in Bakersfield by a 2-0 score on October 27.
The Coaches
In his 16th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 116-147-33 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four conference regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Simon Tobin is in his 27th season and comes in with a 304-188-54 overall record. He led CSUB to the 1997 NCAA Division II Championship. In Division I, he led the 'Runners to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011, winning a conference regular season title.
The Series
This will be the second ever meeting between the two squads, with CSUB holding a 1-0 advantage in the series after defeating the 'Roos in Bakersfield on October 27.
Scouting the Competition
The Roadrunners are the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament after going 6-3-1 in conference play. They are 8-8-2 overall, while posting a 4-1 mark in their last five games.
They have scored 28 goals, but allowed 35 on the season. Individually, Eduardo Calzada leads the team with six goals, while Joe Masumiya matches him with 14 points. Goalkeeper Anthony Perez has the bulk of the minutes, but posts a 1.87 goals against average and three shutouts with 67 saves.
A Win Against CSUB Means...
- UMKC would have won a conference tournament game for the first time since 2009 when they knocked off Oakland 2-1.
- Kansas City would have evened the season series with the Roadrunners.
- The 'Roos would have snapped a five-game losing streak overall.
The WAC Tournament Info
Three first round matches will be played on Thursday, Nov. 14 with the winners moving on to the semifinals (along with the top seed, Seattle) the next day. The championship will be played at 1:00 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Tickets can be purchased at goairforcefalcons.com or by calling (719) 472 1895.
All-Session Adult: $15
All-Session Student with ID: $10
All-Session Youth/Seniors: $10
Single-Session: $8
The WAC will stream all of the matches as well. All six matches can be seen on WAC.tv by accessing the soccer tournament package for a one-time price of $11.95.
Conference Tournament History
Kansas City has an all-time record of 5-13-5 in the conference tournament (4-1 record in penalty shootouts). The 'Roos are 5-9-5 under Benben, winning titles in 2001, 2003 and 2008.
UMKC has appeared in the title game on six occasions (1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009).
The 'Roos have now advanced to the Conference Tournament in seven of the last eight seasons, and in 14 of Benben's 16 seasons as the head coach (2005, 2011 were the only misses).
Overall, UMKC has now advanced to 19 league tournaments.
The 'Roos have not won a conference tourney game since 2009 when they defeated host Oakland 2-1 in the semifinal.
