Matadors Rally Past Golden Bears in Exhibition Contest

Sunday, August 14

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

California

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

Matadors Rally Past Golden Bears in Exhibition Contest

8/14/2016 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Papi Diouf, Bar Shem Tov Score Second-Half Goals in Victory

By: by Geoffrey Herberg

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN men's soccer team kicked off its 2016 season with a 2-1 victory over Cal in an exhibition contest at Matador Soccer Field on Sunday night. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Matadors came out more aggressive in the second half and found goals from Papi Diouf and Bar Shem Tov to post the comeback victory.

CSUN scored twice in less than five minutes midway through the second period. Diouf collected his own rebound and buried a high blast into the netting in the 72nd minute to tie the game. Diouf finished the game with three shots and had two goals in 2015, his first season with the Matadors.

In the 77th minute, sophomore Jules Cailliau and Shem Tov combined for a header at the near post off a corner kick. Shem Tov finished the match with a game-high six shots while the assist would have been the second of Cailliau's career.

The action was fast and furious from the opening kick off Sunday. Both teams hit the crossbar in the first half and the Golden Bears broke through in the 30th minutes on a goal from Trevor Haberkorn. Jose Carrera-Garcia picked up an assist on the play for Cal. Matador senior Shane Steffes nearly tied the match later in the first half, but his shot was stopped by the crossbar.

In goal, senior Kevin Marquez made the start for the Matadors and played just over 62 minutes. He finished with five saves. Redshirt freshman Hagay Yalan played over 42 minutes in net for CSUN and had three stops to preserve the victory.

Cal finished the game with 17 shots, including four attempts in a 15-minutes overtime period the team's played after completing the 90 minutes. CSUN posted 15 shots on the day with 11 coming in the second half. CSUN held a narrow 9-8 advantage in corner kicks and was whistled for 14 fouls. Freshman Samuel Dadzie saw a yellow card in the match's only caution.

The Matadors will host San Diego State in another exhibition contest on Sunday, Aug. 21. Kick off between the Matadors and Aztecs is slated for 7 p.m. CSUN's official 2016 season opener is on Friday, Aug. 26 against Tulsa with kick off slated for approximately 7:30 p.m.