Cynthia Sanchez Scores Twice, Matadors Defeat Fresno State 2-1

FRESNO, CA---

Cynthia Sanchez hit the back of the net twice to help CSUN Women's Soccer (4-1) to its fourth-straight victory by defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs (0-5) 2-1 on Friday night at the Soccer and Lacrosse Field. Sanchez's pair of scores was her first multiple-goal performance of her collegiate career. She also has registered five goals this season, eclipsing her three goals from her freshman season in 2014.

"We played really well at times tonight and we did many positive things that will help us moving forward," said head coach Keith West. "I liked our attention to detail and how our team protected the lead in the second half to earn the win."

From the outset, the Matadors attacked the opposing side of the field, earning several shot attempts throughout the early portion of the contest. After 20 minutes of play, CSUN registered five shot attempts to Fresno State's none.

Shortly after Tabatha Dickson banged a shot off the cross bar, the Matadors broke through with their first goal of the match.

Capitalizing on a turnover, CSUN utilized a series of quick passes on its drive to move deep into Fresno State's box. Lyndsey Preston passed to Tabatha Dickson who then dished a short pass to Kourtney Kutscher. Another quick pass to a streaking Sanchez put the sophomore in position to rifle a shot past a diving Nicole Theroux to put CSUN ahead 1-0.

In the 33^rd minute, the Matadors extended their lead on another quick score. Off a CSUN goal kick, Breanna McCallum fired a far pass from midfield to Sanchez on the break. The Fresno State defense deflected the pass momentarily but Sanchez took control of the ball and fired a shot off the hands of Theroux into the net.

CSUN entered halftime ahead 2-0, outshooting the Bulldogs 10-3 during the first period.

In the second half, the Matadors protected a two-goal lead for nearly the entire 45:00 minutes, as the Bulldogs attempted to claw back into the match. Minutes after Cynthia Tafoya saved a shot attempt, Angie Weiner took advantage of a well-executed corner kick to shoot in Fresno State's first goal in the 81^st minute.

Despite ahead by a narrow lead, the Matadors would regroup to hold Fresno State to one shot the rest of the way.

After Rianna Cota struck the cross bar in the 87^th minute, CSUN took control of the possession of the ball in the waning moments to hold on for the victory.

With her two goals, Sanchez has scored in each of the last four contests for CSUN. After scoring five through the team's first five games, Sanchez is one goal shy of cracking the top 10 in CSUN history for the most goals in a season.

"Cynthia is such a talented and fantastic soccer player," said West. "She has the ability to find the right places on the field to score goals. Credit the midfield too for finding her and putting her in a great position to score."

In net, Tafoya compiled four saves en route to earning her ninth career victory and her first of the season. The Fresno State goal in the second half ended over 174 minutes of shutout ball for Tafoya in the run of play.

The Matadors return home for a Sunday afternoon contest against visiting Detroit. Kickoff from Matador Soccer Field is slated for 1 p.m.

Cynthia Sanchez Scores Twice, Matadors Defeat Fresno State 2-1

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Team Stats

Cynthia Sanchez

Kourtney Kutscher

Camille Watson

Ariana Tran

Players Mentioned

Tabatha Dickson

Kourtney Kutscher

Breanna McCallum

Lyndsey Preston

Cynthia Sanchez

Cynthia Tafoya