Sanchez’s Record-Breaking Night Sparks CSUN to 2-0 Win

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

Cynthia Sanchez's pair of second half goals helped propel CSUN Women's Soccer (8-5-1, 1-0-1 BWC) to a 2-0 victory over UC Irvine (5-7-1, 1-1 BWC) on Thursday night at Matador Soccer Field. With her third brace of the season, Sanchez set the all-time school single season record for goals by recording her 9^th and 10^th goals of 2015 in the victory.

"It's humbling," said Sanchez about setting a new CSUN record. "Every time I step out onto the field, I want to score for the team. I want us to all succeed together and if that means I'm scoring goals then okay. I just look at the outcome and that we all win."

Both the Matadors and Anteaters played a back and forth first half with the two sides having opportunities at the net but neither side able to break through with a score.

In the 16^th minute, Cynthia Tafoya deflected a shot from Alex Karlowitsch that bounced up into the cross bar but landed outside of the net. Minutes later, Kendall Moskal took advantage of a UCI turnover to fire a shot off the break that banged off the cross bar and was corralled by the Anteater defense.

After halftime, the Matadors attacked offensively, posting two shots and a pair of corner kicks in the first four minutes. Finally, in the 54^th minute, Sanchez would connect on a goal from the top of the box as she cleaned up the play off a deflection from a UCI defender.

The Matador forward struck again less than 18 minutes later to push the lead to 2-0. Off a long kick near the sideline from Christina Nixon, Sanchez chased down the pass and raced to the goal. She would beat UCI goalkeeper Corey Tobin on a one-on-one to strike the back of the net, giving her the all-time single season goal record at CSUN.

On the other side of the field, Tafoya and the Matador defense continued to keep UC Irvine at bay. The CSUN goalkeeper would save two in the second half including punching out and corralling potential Anteater scoring threats near the box all night. CSUN would hold UCI scoreless over the final minutes to preserve the shutout and the team's second in as many games against Big West competition.

"We played hard tonight," said head coach Keith West. "We dodged some bullets there but [the shutout] is a testament to the character of our team."

After scoring three goals last season as a redshirt freshman, Sanchez has scored 10 goals in 11 contests this season. With two assists recorded earlier in 2015, she pushes her season point total to 22. She holds not only the all-time single season goal record but she is tied for second with Kristy Krohn (2005) for most points in a season and just three shy of Brianna Monka's (2005) record of 25 points. For her career, she is tied for sixth in CSUN history with Melissa Fernandez with 13 goals and tied for 10^th with Shannon DeVos, Tryna Tafoya and Brittanie Sakajian with 28 career points.

Tafoya has posted back-to-back shutouts for the second time of her career. She kept UC Davis scoreless last Sunday for 110 minutes in the Matadors' conference opener. Last season, Tafoya posted consecutive shutout victories against Gonzaga (9/5/14) and San Diego (9/7/14).

Nixon earned her first career point, assisting Sanchez on the Matadors' second goal of the night.

CSUN continues its conference schedule with a Sunday afternoon match with Cal Poly. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

Sanchez’s Record-Breaking Night Sparks CSUN to 2-0 Win

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Team Stats

Cynthia Sanchez

Christina Nixon

Lyndsey Preston

Marissa Favela

Players Mentioned

Kendall Moskal

Christina Nixon

Brittanie Sakajian

Cynthia Sanchez

Cynthia Tafoya