CSUN Learns NCAA Tournament Fate, Hosts Pacific

Complete 2016 NCAA Tournament Bracket

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN men's soccer team, Big West South Division and Tournament Champions, will host the University of the Pacific on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in an opening round game of the 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Division I Tournament at Matador Soccer Field. The winner of the match-up between the Matadors and Tigers, the first ever meeting between the schools in the all-time series, will then travel to take on fifth-seeded Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 20.

Ticketing information is as follows:

$10 -- Adults (13 & Older)
$7 --- Students with proper school ID, Senior Citizens, Military with proper ID and Youth Tickets

The Matadors advanced to their seventh NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament in dramatic fashion. In the semifinals, CSUN and Sacramento State went to penalty kicks after a scoreless 110 minutes of action. After each team buried its first five attempts, Kevin Marquez made a save on the Hornets' sixth attempt and fellow senior Patrick Hickman scored from the spot to send CSUN to the Tournament Championship. The result was the first time CSUN had gone to penalty kicks in a postseason tournament since the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

In the Tournament Championship and in front of the home crowd, the Matadors pulled off a stunning comeback over Cal State Fullerton. Trailing 1-0 with less than 15 minutes to play, freshman Edwin Quiroz tied the match with a curling shot at the far post in the 78th minute. The teams then went to overtime and CSUN was awarded a penalty kick in the 99th minute. However, the Titan goalkeeper saved the attempt and the squads went into double overtime.

In the second extra period, senior Shane Steffes made a challenging run and took on three Titan defenders with a minute to play. When a fourth came to challenge him at the top of the 18-yard box, he slid a pass to junior Jeremy Degraffenreidt and the forward one-timed the ball to give the Matadors the Tournament Title with 52 seconds left on the clock.

The 2016 Big West Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, Marquez was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. CSUN also qualified for the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2013 seasons and was a top-16 seed in 2012 and 2013.

Pacific, in just its third year of existence as an NCAA Division I program, finished 12-3-2 overall and 4-1-2 in West Coast Conference action. The Tigers went 2-1 against Big West schools this season, defeating Sacramento State and Cal State Fullerton while losing to UC Davis. Julio Cervantes leads the squad with nine goals and 21 points while four other Tigers have at least three goals on the season. In net, Curtis Goldsmith has played the majority of minutes and sports a 0.84 goals-against average, 45 saves and a .776 save percentage.

CSUN finished the regular season with a 9-6-5 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in the Big West. In addition to Marquez, CSUN won two other major awards as Hickman was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year and Terry Davila was named Big West Coach of the Year. Juan Fernando Samayoa earned a spot on the First Team All-Big West squad while Emmanuel Usen Jr. and Gabe Robinson earned Honorable Mention and Quiroz received a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

Several CSUN opponents from the 2016 season also qualified for the field of 48. New Mexico won Conference USA, SIU-Edwardsville won the Missouri Valley Confernce, Tulsa won the American Athletic Conference and UCLA earned an at-large berth.

CSUN Learns NCAA Tournament Fate, Hosts Pacific

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Degraffenreidt

Patrick Hickman

Kevin Marquez

Edwin Quiroz

Gabe Robinson

Juan Fernando Samayoa

Shane Steffes

Emmanuel Usen Jr.

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