California State University at Northridge
4-5-1
UC Santa Barbara
5-3-1
Team Stats
Hickman,Patrick (1)
Assisted By: Robinson,Gabe
23 beats gk off long throw from next to
8:11
Backus, Duncan (1)
Assisted By: DePuy, Nick , Murphy, Drew
off corner, 6 heads far post, 8 heads in
20:58
DePuy, Nick (3)
Assisted By: Murphy, Drew , Mendez, Axel
6 redirects 7 cross to far post with rig
70:08
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
CSUN Falls in Big West Opener at UCSB 2-1
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Hickman's tally came just over eight minutes into the match with the Matadors pressing forward. Gabe Robinson took a long throw in from the right side, which found Hickman and was easily headed into the back of the net from a few feet out.
The Gauchos responded, however, to tie the score in the 21st minute on a header of their own. Drew Murphy took a corner kick from the left side that found Nick DePuy in a crowd in the box. DePuy's header popped up to Duncan Backus at the left post, who finished the scoring chance with a header into the top of the net.
A half-minute later the Matadors nearly went in front again, but Sagi Lev-Ari's shot was saved by goalkeeper Brandon Berke. Going into halftime, UCSB led in shots 10-6 and both sides had three shots on goal and two saves to their credit.
Juan Samayoa and Nicolas Camacho had shots saved by Berke in the second half, while Adam Hobbs recorded a save in goal for the Matadors. In the 64th minute CSUN was denied a goal on a scoring opportunity once more, but this time for being offside.
Lev-Ari and David Turcios completed a combination moving upfield on a counter attack and the final pass found Lev-Ari alone with an open net. He neatly tucked the ball into the net but was ruled offside by the assistant referee.
Seven minutes later the Gauchos broke the deadlock and found the eventual game-winning goal. Axel Mendez started the play and found Murphy on a run up the left side of the field. Murphy's cross appeared to be heading wide of the target but DePuy was there at the last second to tap the ball into the goal.
CSUN will stay on the road for its next match which will be played Sunday afternoon at Cal Poly. Kickoff between the Matadors and Mustangs is scheduled for 3 p.m. following a women's soccer match between CSUN and Cal Poly at noon.