CSUN Men's Soccer Squares off with San Diego State Sunday Night

Sunday, August 21

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

San Diego State

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

CSUN Men's Soccer Squares off with San Diego State Sunday Night

8/19/2016 9:20:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Exhibition Contest between Matadors and Aztecs at 7 p.m.

By: by Geoffrey Herberg

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN men's soccer team will host San Diego State in an exhibition contest at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21 at Matador Soccer Field. The Matadors, who were picked in a tie for second in the South Division in the Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, will take on the Aztecs in their final tune-up of the 2016 season.

The Matadors are coming off a 2-1 comeback victory over Cal in their 2016 exhibition opener. After a giving up a goal in the first half, CSUN scored twice over a five-minute period in the second half to claim the victory. Junior Papi Diouf collected his own rebound to tie the match and freshman Bar Shem Tov headed home the game-winning goal off an assist from sophomore Jules Cailliau.

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.

CSUN received 20 points in the Big West South Division to tie with UC Irvine for second behind two-time conference tournament champion Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors finished 2015 with an 8-8-3 overall mark and a 4-4-2 mark in league action to finish second in the South Division.

San Diego State is coming off a 3-2 victory over Santa Clara in an exhibition contest in San Diego on Aug. 17. Dallin Cutler, Travis Niclaw and Pablo Pelaez all scored for the Aztecs in the friendly. The Aztecs were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 Conference after posting an 8-8-3 overall record and a 2-7-1 mark in league action.

Although Sunday's contest will not officially count, CSUN leads the all-time series with San Diego State 12-8-2 and has won the last two meetings in the contest. In fact, the two teams have not met in an official capacity since the 2002 campaign.

The Matadors officially open the 2016 season on Friday. Aug. 26 with a home match against Tulsa set for 7:30 p.m. at Matador Soccer Field. The match is part of a CSUN soccer doubleheader with the Matador women's team hosting South Dakota at 5 p.m. and all fans 13 & younger who are wearing a team jersey or are part of the Matador Kids Club will receive free admission to the contest. That promotion will extend to all Fridays for men's and women's matches throughout the 2016 season.