CSUN Travels to Pacific Northwest to Kick Off 2016 Season

Friday, August 19

Portland, Ore.

1:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Portland State

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

CSUN Travels to Pacific Northwest to Kick Off 2016 Season

8/17/2016 4:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer opens up the 2016 regular season with a pair of road matches beginning Friday afternoon. The Matadors square off with Portland State at 1 p.m. in the season opener followed by a Sunday afternoon contest against Oregon State at 12 p.m. Live stats will be available for both contests and Portland State will provide a live video stream of the series opener. Links for both live stats and video can be accessed on the CSUN Women's Soccer schedule page.

The Matadors head into the new season with high expectations. Earning 11 wins in 2015, CSUN enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in team history. Despite posting their second-most wins in the 21-year history of the program, CSUN came a victory short of reaching the Big West Conference Tournament. With a disappointing end to an otherwise tremendous season behind them, the Matadors begin 2016 with much of the same look as last year's squad. The team boasts 19 letter winners on the roster including 15 upperclassmen in a very experienced veteran lineup.

As a team, the 2015 Matadors scored their most goals (33) in 10 seasons including producing 17 different players with points. 13 of the 17 Matadors that recorded points have returned to the roster this season.

The team's top scorer from last season, redshirt junior Cynthia Sanchez returns after becoming the all-time single season scoring leader in team history. Sanchez netted 11 goals in a record-breaking season while adding three assists for 25 points for the campaign. The team's second-leading scorer in 2015, senior Kourtney Kutscher, leads a nine-woman senior class this season. Kutscher recorded a career-high six goals to go along with two assists, finishing with 14 points for CSUN. A pair of All-Big West Conference First Team members last season, both Sanchez and Kutscher earned spots on the All-Big West Preseason Team earlier this month.

Along with Kutscher, the Matadors welcome back seniors Taylor Hobson, Camille Watson, Nicole Thompson, Breanna McCallum, Sylvia Trinh, Krystal Kutscher, Briana Geffre and Kyla Diekmann. As a group, the nine seniors have scored 14 goals, registered 24 assists and accumulated 52 points in their careers with CSUN.

On defense, the Matadors have a veteran group consisting of Thompson, Geffre and Lindsay Kutscher. A stalwart on the backline over her career, Thompson has competed in all 20 games in each of the last two seasons and she posted a career-high two assists in 2015. Geffre played a career-best 12 matches and tallied her first point of her collegiate career as a junior. A member of the Big West Conference All-Freshman Team, Kutscher netted two goals in her first season with the Matadors and helped CSUN compile seven shutouts a year ago.

In net, the Matadors will turn to redshirt junior Jovani McCaskill who missed 17 of 20 matches in 2015. In her three matches on the pitch, McCaskill posted two shutouts and three victories to go along with a 0.33 goals-against-average. A 2014 Big West Conference Honorable Mention, McCaskill has eight career wins in a CSUN uniform.

The Matadors are 9-11-1 all-time in season openers and 8-12-1 in road openers. Coming into the matchup on Friday, CSUN has dropped three-straight season openers and six-straight losses on the road to begin a season. The Matadors look to earn their first season opening road victory since 2005 as CSUN blanked UNLV 2-0 to start that season.

CSUN holds a 4-1 record in the all-time series with the Vikings. The teams squared off at Matador Soccer Field last season as the Matadors earned a 3-0 victory in the match. Kutscher and Sanchez each scored in the three-goal win over Portland State. Both teams have a victory in two all-time meetings at Portland State but the programs have not faced each other in Portland since the 1999 season.

Oregon State holds a 3-2 edge in the head-to-head series with the Matadors. The Beavers defeated the Matadors, 3-1, in the team's last meeting three seasons ago. OSU is undefeated against CSUN in two all-time meetings at home including claiming a 2-0 decision in the teams' last contest at Oregon State in 2007.

A Closer Look at Portland State
The Vikings finished last season with a 5-13-0 overall record and a 3-7-0 mark in the Big Sky Conference. 2015 proved to be a rebuilding season for Portland State as the Vikings missed out on the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the first time in eight seasons. Much like last year's team, Portland State possesses a young team with 18 underclassmen including 10 true freshmen.

The team's leading scorer in 2015, senior midfielder and forward Aurora Bodenhamer netted five goals last season en route to earning a Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention. Bodenhamer scored five of the Vikings' 13 goals for the season and also led the team in points (11) and shots (42). Junior midfielder and defender, Katie Forsee also earned a conference honorable mention last season, scoring a goal and adding two assists. In net, sophomore Abbie Faingold and freshman Ashton Blanksma are expected to compete for time at goalkeeper this season. Both Faingold and Blanksma have yet to start a match in their respective collegiate careers.

A Closer Look at Oregon State
The Beavers went 6-10-3 last season including posting a 2-9-0 record against Pac-12 competition. After going winless in 2014, OSU surged out to a 4-0-2 start in 2015 before dropping 10 of the team's final 13 matches. The Beavers' roster consists of a mix of experience and youth as 13 upperclassmen are on the 26-woman roster including five seniors.

OSU's top point leaders from last season, junior forward Emma Jones and sophomore midfielder Allison Pantuso both return in 2016. Jones led the team in assists as a sophomore while scoring two goals. In her freshman campaign, Pantuso led the team in goals with three on .273 shooting and added an assist. Starting all 19 games last season, senior defender Greta Espinoza earned a 2015 Pac-12 Honorable Mention and helped her team produce five shutouts. In net, junior goalkeeper Bella Geist started 18 contests last season, earning six wins, 85 saves and a 1.10 goals-against-average.