Matadors Continue Road Trip at UCSB, Cal Poly

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer (5-3-5, 0-1-1 BWC) resumes Big West Conference play with a pair of road matches. The Matadors travel to face UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at 5 p.m. and conclude their road trip with a meeting with Cal Poly on Sunday at 12 p.m. Live stats will be available for both contests and live video will be provided for each match on Big West.TV.

The Matadors head into the second week of conference action seeking their first Big West victory. CSUN played to a scoreless draw in its Big West opener last Friday against UC Davis. Two nights later, the Matadors fell in double overtime, 2-1, at Long Beach State.

Against the Aggies, the Matadors earned their ninth shutout of the season in the 0-0 draw. Five Matadors had at least two shots in the match and CSUN outshot UC Davis, 15-7. Junior Jovani McCaskill earned two saves in net and she recorded her eighth individual shutout of 2016 in the match.

On Sunday, the Matadors and 49ers competed in a back-and-forth affair for 103 minutes of action. Senior Taylor Hobson scored her first goal of the season in the first half off a header from fellow senior Nicole Thompson. The 49ers answered with the tying goal in the 67th minute and the game entered overtime deadlocked at 1-1. After a 10-minute scoreless first overtime, Jessica Vincent lifted her team to victory with a score off a free kick in the 103rd minute.

The Matadors' defense continues to impress this season after posting their ninth shutout of the season last Friday. The team has only given up two first half goals on the season and only seven total in 13 matches. In September, CSUN surrendered only three goals, which all came in a match at Marquette (Sept. 18). As a unit, the Matadors are seventh in the nation in shutout percentage (.692) as of Oct. 3. Anchoring the backline, Thompson leads the team in minutes (1,269) as she has played in all but 14 minutes this season. Sophomore Lindsay Kutscher has logged 1,226 minutes on the field for CSUN and has seen every minute on the field on nine occassions.

In net, McCaskill ranks near the top in every statistical defensive category in the Big West Conference. McCaskill is tops in the conference with her eight shutouts and she is second in goals-against-average (.492) and save percentage (.870). She is also fourth in the Big West in saves with 47. Nationally, McCaskill is third in shutouts and 16th in GAA.

On the offensive side, the Matadors have found success in matches away from Matador Soccer Field as of late. Over its last three matches away from home, CSUN has scored five goals. The team also has found the net seven times in six road matches and has only been shutout once this season.

Watson continues to lead the Matadors in goals (3) and points (8) while the trio of Kourtney Kutscher, Lindsay Kutscher and Sylvia Trinh all have two goals. The team is currently first in the Big West in shots per game (16.08) and third in shots on goal per game (6.15).

The Matadors and Gauchos have played 23 matches all-time as UCSB leads the series 15-8. However, CSUN has had success as of late against the Gauchos, winning four of the last five meetings. The series has featured 11 games that has ended 1-0 and 17 games decided by one goal. The Matadors earned a 4-3 win over the Gauchos to close out the 2015 season in a wild match. In the contest, CSUN jumped out in front to take a 3-0 lead only to see UCSB roar back to tie the match in the second half. Eventually, the Matadors would prevail on a Kourtney Kutscher goal via a pentalty shot in overtime.

Cal Poly leads the all-time series with the Matadors, 7-6-3, but CSUN has won three of the last four meetings. The Matadors are also unbeaten in their last three matches in San Luis Obispo and have scored six goals combined in those three contests. In 2015, the Matadors received goals from Kourtney Kutscher and Cynthia Sanchez in a 2-1 win over Cal Poly at Matador Soccer Fied.

A Closer Look at UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos (1-0-0 BWC) come into Thursday's match with an overall record of 10-1-1 including a perfect 7-0 mark at home. In its conference opener on Sunday, UCSB outlasted Hawai'i, 3-2. Last season, the Gauchos earned a share of the Big West Conference regular season crown and finished with a 13-6-1 record.

Junior forward Amanda Ball is second in the conference in scoring with eight goals to go along with two assists and 18 points. Sophomore Mallory Hromatko and freshman Shaelan Murison have scored four goals and recorded two assists apiece this season. As a team, UCSB leads the conference in goals with 25 as 11 different Gauchos have hit the net.

Sophomore goalkeeper Brittney Rogers has seen over 800 minutes in net for the Gauchos and posted a conference-best 0.34 GAA on the season. Rogers also leads the Big West in save percentage (.893) and she is tied for second in shutouts (6).

A Closer Look at Cal Poly
The Mustangs are 6-6-1 on the season including 1-1-0 in Big West play. At home, Cal Poly has won five of six matches including two straight. The Mustangs edged Hawai'i, 2-1, last Sunday to seize their first conference win. However, Cal State Fullerton handed Cal Poly a 4-0 road loss on Sunday. Before hosting CSUN, Cal Poly will travel to Long Beach State on Thursday.

Sophomore Caitlyn Kreutz leads the team with four goals, three assists and 11 points. The Mustang trio of freshman Jessica Johnson and sophomores Stephanie Magellan and Kelly Kessloff have all hit the net twice.

Freshman goalkeeper Sophia Brown has played every minute in net for Cal Poly. Brown has amassed 55 saves, a 1.42 GAA and three shutouts on the season.

Matadors Continue Road Trip at UCSB, Cal Poly

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Players Mentioned

Briana Geffre

Taylor Hobson

Kourtney Kutscher

Lindsay Kutscher

Jovani McCaskill

Cynthia Sanchez

Nicole Thompson

Sylvia Trinh