New Rochelle, NY—For just the second time in the 12-year Division I history of the program, the UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team is 2-0 to start a season thanks to a 1-0 road win Sunday afternoon over Iona (1-1). The Gaels entered the match ranked 40th in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

The only other 2-0 start to a Highlanders season came in 2007 when UCR upended Central Arkansas 3-2 on September 1 and 21st-ranked San Diego State 2-0 on September 4. Both of those wins came on the road as well.

UC Riverside's streak was stopped on September 7, 2007 when the Highlanders dropped a 2-1 overtime decision at Mercer.

For the second straight match, UCR played to a scoreless first half tie, with the Gaels outshooting the Highlanders 5-3 over the first 45 minutes of play. UC Riverside goalkeeper Ashkan Khosravi picked up three saves in the period.

Shots were just as hard to come by after intermission with the Highlanders owning a 6-4 edge, but with 14:15 gone in the second half, Ivan Garcia found Ruben Valencia for his first score of the season, putting UCR up 1-0.

UC Riverside limited Iona to just three shots after taking the lead, as Khosravi recorded two more saves in the period in picking up his second consecutive shutout.

The Highlanders return to California this weekend where they will travel to Irvine for the UC Irvine Invitational. On Friday, August 31, UCR takes on Detroit at 4:30 pm PT, and on Sunday, September 2 they play Long Island at 2 pm.

FIRING BLANKS
The last time the Highlanders recorded consecutive shutouts was October 10 and 13, 2007 when they blanked Cal State Fullerton 1-0 and played to a scoreless tie at Cal State Northridge.

UC Riverside has never recorded three straight shutouts.

UCR's Division I era record for consecutive shutout minutes is 256:02 spanning four matches from October 7 to October 18, 2006.

The fewest goals UC Riverside has ever allowed in its first two matches of the season prior to 2012 is two on three occasions (2003, 04, 07)

The Highlanders only recorded three shutouts in all of 2011.

The team record for shutouts in a season is six set in 2006.