California State University at Northridge
Cal Poly
CSUN Opens Big West Season against Cal Poly, UCSB
9/30/2015 9:05:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Matadors Host Mustangs, Gauchos at Matador Soccer Field
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN Matadors (4-3-1) return home to Matador Soccer Field to open the 2015 Big West Conference season with a pair of matches against North Division opponents. On Thursday, Oct. 1, CSUN hosts the Cal Poly Mustangs in a 7 p.m. contest and then on Saturday, Oct. 3, the Matadors face UC Santa Barbara in a 5 p.m. contest. Both contests will feature live, Spanish-audio broadcasts featuring Eduard Cauich and Jose Avalos calling all the action and Saturday's match against UCSB will feature live video available through BigWest TV. Live stats will also be available for both contests with all links available at GoMatadors.com. Fans are encouraged to follow the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter accounts (@GoMatadors, @CSUNMensSoccer and @CSUNCapeCrew) for updates throughout the weekend. CSUN students get free admission to all Matador home matches with valid school ID.
Last week, CSUN wrapped up its 2015 non-conference schedule with a 1-0 victory at San Diego. Senior Carlos Gonzalez scored his fourth goal in his last three games with a header in the 66th minute off a cross from freshman Jumoke Hutton. Approximately 20 minutes later, senior Adam Hobbs saved his second penalty kick in as many games and the Matadors captured their third-straight road victory against a West Coast Conference opponent.
Hobbs was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28, giving CSUN consecutive winners for the award after senior Trevor Morley earned the honors on Sept. 21. The CSUN defense continues to shine, having allowed just one goal in the run of play over its last 512 minutes and one goal total over its last four games. Seniors Tanner Snedigar and Victor Vasquez, juniors Patrick Hickman and Juan Fernando Samayoa and freshmen Stuart Close and Andrew Rizeq have all played important roles in addition to the services of Morley, Hutton and Hobbs.
Scouting Cal Poly
The Cal Poly Mustangs enter Thursday's fixture at CSUN with a 5-2-1 overall record and RPI of 18 through non-conference play. The Mustangs have wins over UNLV (RPI 27) and Seattle (RPI 16), but also lost to Santa Clara (RPI 36) and UCLA (RPI 62). Cal Poly will travel to face the UC Irvine Anteaters on Saturday night after squaring off with the Matadors.Â
Matt LaGrassa leads the Mustangs with three goals and is tied with Chase Minter (two goals, two assists) for the team lead with six points. Kaba Alkebulan also has two goals while Justin Dhillon, Ruben Duran and Adam Olsen all have found the netting. Cal Poly averages 10.6 shots while conceding 12.4 to its opponents per game. Opponents have taken 12 more corner kicks than the Mustangs (40-28) on the year, though no goals have been scored off the set piece.
In net, Wade Hamilton carries a 0.97 goals-against average with 23 saves and a .742 save percentage while playing every minute of action in 2015. He has posted three shutouts and averages just under three saves per game. Cal Poly has 18 yellow cards, the second-most in the league, and 107 fouls on the season, the fourth-most in the conference.Â
CSUN leads the all-time series with Cal Poly 29-16-9 and owns a home record of 18-5-4 in matches in Northridge. Cal Poly took a 2-1 overtime decision in the 2014 meeting in San Luis Obispo, CA, but it has not won in the San Fernando Valley since a 2-0 decision in 2010.
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos enter the week with a 5-3-1 overall record after concluding non-conference play. The Gauchos check in at No. 20 in the initial NCAA RPI and have wins over Stanford (RPI 22), UCLA (RPI 62) and San Diego (RPI 86). They also have a tie with Denver (RPI 7) and losses to Akron (RPI 6) and New Mexico (RPI 15).Â
Nick DePuy, who earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 28, leads UCSB and the Big West Conference with seven goals and 15 points. Ahinga Selemani has three goals while Geoffrey Acheampong leads the Big West with four assists. The Gauchos have scored 18 goals on the season and have taken 57 corner kicks.Â
On defense, freshman Justin Vom Steeg has played the majority of the minutes in goal and sports a 1.00 goals-against-average, 23 saves and a .767 save percentage. He has three shutouts on the year and is the son of UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg. The Gauchos have committed a league-high 157 fouls and have received 17 yellow cards.Â
UCSB leads the all-time series with CSUN 20-16-5 and took a 2-1 decision in Santa Barbara last season. CSUN won in Santa Barbara in 2012 and 2013, but has not won in the San Fernando Valley since a 1-0 decision in the 2009 season.
Matador Team Notes
CSUN checks in at 30 in the initial NCAA Division I Men's Soccer RPI ... there are 206 men's soccer programs listed in the RPI and the percentage is a calculation of a team's win-loss record and strength of schedule ... in the RPI, away matches are weighed heavier than home contests ... there are no bonuses or penalties for neutral-site games ... the Big West Conference has three teams in the top 30 of the RPI: Cal Poly (18), UC Santa Barbara (20) and CSUN (30) ... Creighton (5) is the highest-rated opponent CSUN has faced while Santa Clara (36) is the highest win the Matadors have ... six of CSUN's non-conference opponents have a top 100 RPI: Creighton (5), New Mexico (15), Santa Clara (36), San Diego (64), Omaha (80) and CSU Bakersfield (97) ... unlike most NCAA Tournaments, men's soccer features just 48 teams with the top 16 teams seeded and receiving a first-round bye ... the RPI is a tool that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to select the 48-team field, though it is not the only measurement.
Next Week
CSUN heads to Northern Californa to face UC Davis (Oct. 8, 4 p.m.) and Sacramento State (Oct. 10, 4 p.m.) in a pair of Big West Conference matches.Â
