Matadors Shutout Southern Utah 2-0

Friday, August 28

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

2-1

Southern Utah

1-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Southern Utah	0	0	0
CSUN	0	2	2

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

Matadors Shutout Southern Utah 2-0

8/28/2015 10:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

En Español

NORTHRIDGE, CA--

Thanks to a pair of second half goals, CSUN Women's Soccer (2-1) earned its second-straight shutout with a 2-0 victory over Southern Utah (1-2) on Friday night at Matador Soccer Field. Cynthia Sanchez and Kourtney Kutscher each registered their second goals of the season to help lead the Matadors to the win.

Throughout most of the first half, the Matadors were able to build multiple goal-scoring opportunities but were unable to hit the back of the net for the first 45:00 minutes. CSUN outshot Southern Utah by a 9-4 margin in the first period with Sanchez, Tabatha Dickson and Brittany Reyes each notching a shot on goal.

After the intermission, the Matadors' hard work offensively paid off in the 55^th minute, as a well-executed play off a throw led to a Matador goal. Destinney Duron tossed in the ball from out of bounds into the box where a well-timed Nicole Thompson head flick reached a streaking Sanchez who finished with a score at the far post.

"I felt we were a bit cautious at times in the first half about giving a goal and we were backing up," said head coach Keith West. "At halftime, I told the team that they needed to go for it. If we are going to lose a game, I'd rather we go for the goal than back up and be on our heels."

The Matadors added an insurance goal to put the game out of reach in the 81^st minute On a short pass from Breanna McCallum, Kutscher fired a shot from 20 yards out that hit the net, giving CSUN a 2-0 lead.

Defensively, the Matadors kept the Thunderbirds at bay all night, allowing seven shots with just two on goal.

Jovani McCaskill posted her second shutout this season in the victory. The combination of McCaskill and Cynthia Tafoya have only allowed one goal in over 273 minutes of play in 2015.

The tandem of Kutscher of Sanchez have scored four of the Matadors' five goals thus far this season. After competing in her first 34 matches without a goal in her Matador career, Kutscher has scored goals in consecutive contests. Sanchez's second goal of the year is her fifth of her collegiate career. The tandem racked up 12 of the Matadors' 20 shots in the contest with Kutscher leading the way with seven.

CSUN returns to Matador Soccer Field on Sunday afternoon for an afternoon contest against visiting New Mexico State. The game is part of a CSUN soccer doubleheader at Matador Soccer Field with CSUN Women's Soccer competing at 1 p.m. followed by CSUN Men's Soccer's season opener against Loyola-Chicago at 6 p.m. Separate tickets are required for each contest.