CSUN Hosts UC Riverside, Travels to Face UC Irvine

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer (7-3-5, 2-1-1 BWC) continues Big West Conference play on Thursday evening at Matador Soccer Field against UC Riverside at 7 p.m. Three days later, CSUN travels to face UC Irvine at 2 p.m. in its final road match of the regular season. Live stats will be available for both matches.

The Matadors head into this week's competition with a two-match winning streak after posting impressive road victories against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. CSUN swept both central coast teams for the third-straight season and for just the second time in program history on the road.

Last Thursday, CSUN won in dramatic fashion against the Gauchos. After neither team was able to break through in 90 minutes of action, the match entered overtime. Playing in their seventh overtime match of the season, the Matadors received the deciding goal just 1:27 into the extra period. Capitalizing on a turnover, Cynthia Sanchez delivered a shot that hit off the post but the ball stayed at the goal and eventually trickled past the goal line. The Matadors limited the the high-powered Gaucho offense to only five shots in the match. Junior goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill made two saves in net including a leaping stop in the 74th minute.

CSUN earned its second-straight 1-0 win on Sunday against the Mustangs. In the 25th minute, following a shot from Sanchez that struck the cross bar, Lindsay Kutscher rebounded the ball near the goal line and sent in the go-ahead shot. The goal would be more than enough for the Matadors as CSUN earned its 11th shutout of the season. McCaskill racked up seven saves in net including stopping three shots in the second half to post her 10th individual clean sheet.

For her efforts last week, McCaskill nabbed Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week nods on Monday. McCaskill has earned the conference's weekly award twice this season and three times over her career. On the season, McCaskill leads the Big West in shutouts (10) and save percentage (.889) while she is second in goals-against-average (.431).

As a team, the Matadors tied a program season record with their 11th shutout of the season on Sunday. The team has only allowed goals in four games and only seven total goals for the season. Nationally, the Matadors are second in shutout percentage (.733) as of Oct. 10. Anchoring the backline, senior Nicole Thompson has appeared on the field for 1,450 minutes this season and has played in all but 14 minutes. In addition to her play offensively, Kutscher has also contributed to the Matadors' strong play defensively, competing 1,407 minutes on the field for CSUN. The trio of Amanda Martin, Christina Nixon and Briana Geffre have also been consistent forces for the Matadors in the defensive third, compiling 986, 908 and 863 minutes respectively.

Both Kutscher and Camille Watson lead the team in scoring with three goals apiece while the trio of Sanchez, Sylvia Trinh and Kourtney Kutscher all have two goals. In the assist category, Watson and Trinh are tied for the team lead with three. The Matadors are tops in the conference in shot attempts, averaging 15.87 per game. Watson leads the Matadors in shots attempts with 44 with 19 on goal.

The Matadors lead the all-time head-to-head series with UC Riverside, 8-7. The teams have split the last six meetings and the home team has won in each of those matches. With a 1-0 win over the Matadors last season, the Highlanders clinched the fourth and final Big West Conference Tournament spot and eliminated CSUN from postseason contention. The Matadors have won five of seven all-time home matches and defeated the Highlanders, 1-0, in the teams' last meeting at Matador Soccer Field in 2014.

CSUN is 8-7-4 against UC Irvine all-time after shutting out the Anteaters, 2-0, last season. In the Matadors' win over UCI in 2015, Sanchez scored twice and became the school's all-time single season scoring leader. CSUN owns a 4-3-2 record in matches played at UC Irvine all-time but have not won a road match in the series since the 2005 season. The Anteaters earned a 4-3 win over the Matadors in the teams' last contest at Anteater Stadium two seasons ago.

A Closer Look at UC Riverside
The Highlanders (0-3-0 BWC) come into Thursday's match with an overall record of 3-8-3 and a 2-5-1 mark on the road. UC Riverside has lost six-straight contests including a 2-0 loss at Hawai'i last Thursday. To start conference play, the Highlanders dropped contests versus Cal State Fullerton, 2-1, and UC Irvine, 2-0. Last season, the Highlanders went 11-9 and 5-3 in conference play. The team advanced to the 2015 Big West Conference Tournament but fell to Long Beach State in the opening round.

Senior forward Tayler Dragoo leads the team with nine points and four goals on 30 shots while fellow senior Sammy Arellano has a team-high three assists. Including Dragoo, the Highlanders have 10 different players that have scored this season. In net, junior goalkeeper Alanna Guzman has started 12 matches and posted a 1.39 GAA. Guzman has also saved 63 shots, recorded three shutouts and produced a .778 shutout percentage in 1162:26 in goal.

A Closer Look at UC Irvine
The Anteaters are 9-4-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in conference action. UCI has won three of four matches at Anteater Stadium this season. The team last played on October 2 as the Anteaters defeated UC Riverside, 2-0 on the road. In their conference opener, the Anteaters battled Long Beach State to a scoreless draw on September 30. Before hosting CSUN, UC Irvine will travel north to face UC Davis on Thursday afternoon.

As a unit, UCI has scored the second-most goal in the conference with 24. The Anteaters are led offensively by junior Kiana Palacios who leads the Big West Conference with nine goals, 23 points and 50 shots. Sophomore Lili Andino is second on the team with five goals while junior Noel Baham has seven assists along with three goals. Freshman goalkeeper Maddie Newsom has played all but 7:16 in net for the Anteaters this season. Newsom has amassed a 0.62 GAA, 34 saves and six shutouts on the season.

CSUN Hosts UC Riverside, Travels to Face UC Irvine

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Players Mentioned

Briana Geffre

Kourtney Kutscher

Lindsay Kutscher

Amanda Martin

Jovani McCaskill

Christina Nixon

Cynthia Sanchez

Nicole Thompson

Sylvia Trinh

Camille Watson