California State University at Northridge
5-7-2, 1-3-1BWC
UC Riverside
2-9-2, 1-3-1BWC
Team Stats
Peixoto,Marino (2)
Assisted By: Robinson,Gabe
Cross from 4 right side, curled shot fro
36:41
Lev-Ari,Sagi (8)
Assisted By: Turcios,David
28 jukes defender out of his boots, chip
56:51
Lomeli, Romario (1)
Assisted By: Arrieta, Jacob , Ruiz, Ricardo
Cross from 10 to back post, 25 on the do
86:35
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Matadors Break Slump With 2-1 Win Over UC Riverside
10/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
"I am very happy for our players. Our kids are used to winning and producing goals and we needed to figure out how to come back," said CSUN head coach Terry Davila. "We did a good job of coming back, putting our heads together and believing we could score. A lot of it is mental."
CSUN controlled possession throughout the match and looked to be the more dangerous of the teams, firing off 12 shots and putting six on frame in the first half alone. Nicolas Camacho was the first to truly test UC Riverside's Ashkan Khosravi when his shot from outside of the box forced the goalkeeper into a diving save toward his left post in the 16th minute.
Edwin Rivas nearly opened the scoring for the Matadors in the 19th minute, but Khosravi kept the shot out with another brilliant diving stop near the post. In the 29th minute, Rivas again collected a shot on goal when his attempt was gathered by Khosravi at the opposite side of the goal.
The Matadors found the breakthrough they were looking for when Marino Peixoto scored his second goal of the season in the 37th minute. After entering the match just over five minutes before as a substitution, Peixoto received a cross in from Gabe Robinson on the right side a curled a shot into the top left corner of the goal to put CSUN ahead 1-0. The goal was the first for CSUN since Peixoto's strike in the 88th minute against Cal Poly on October 5th.
"You've got to be ready to play at all times. Each game is the same and you need to be focused," said Peixoto. "You just have to do the job that coach asks you to do and if you score, you score. That's it."
CSUN doubled its lead 20 minutes later when Sagi Lev-Ari found the back of the net for the first time since September 25th. David Turcios made a long run down the right side of the field and skillfully dribbled past his defender, leaving him on the ground in his wake. He then chipped a pass near the endline back to Lev-Ari at the six-yard box, who headed the cross easily into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the year.
"I knew that I had to beat my defender and pick out my man in the box," said Turcios. "I was able to take him then pick out Sagi and put it on his head. Automatic goal every time."
With the goal, Lev-Ari moved into seventh place in CSUN history with 84 career points. Turcios, meanwhile, now leads the team with four assists this season.
CSUN goalkeeper Adam Hobbs notched three saves in the second half, all from point-blank range and mere feet from the goal.
Looking for the equalizer down the stretch, UC Riverside continued to send players forward and was eventually able to halve the deficit. In the 87th minute, Romario Lomeli rose for a header at the left post and put away a cross from the right side to bring the Highlanders back to within a goal.
The Matadors were able to withstand the pressure, however, to claim all three points on the night. With the win, CSUN moved into third place in the Big West South Division with five matches remaining.
Hobbs recorded five saves in the contest to pick up his fifth win of 2014 and move into a tie for seventh all-time with 19 as a Matador.
CSUN will now embark upon its final road stretch of the regular season, playing its next three matches away from home. The Matadors will travel to Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday, Oct. 22 (7 p.m.) before facing the nationally-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters at Anteater Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25 (7 p.m.).