Matadors Drop Home Opener to North Dakota State

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer (1-1-1) was unable to overcome a tiebreaking goal in the 59th minute as the Matadors dropped their home opener to North Dakota State (2-1-0), 1-0, at Matador Soccer Field on Friday evening. Senior midfielder Breanna McCallum led CSUN with five shot attempts off the bench while fellow seniors Camille Watson and Kourtney Kutscher had three and two shots respectively.

"We just didn't have enough quality on the day to make it happen," said head coach Keith West. "In the second half we followed the game plan, but in the first half we didn't. It's not easy to score a goal in this game. To score you have to be perfect and have quality throughout. To expect the ball to always bounce your way is not going to happen. You have to make the ball bounce your way. Today, we didn't make the ball bounce our way sometimes. We have a great side and this is a great lesson to learn. Sometimes you have to go backward to move forward."

Throughout 90 minutes of action, the Matadors found ways to create scoring opportunities. Outshooting North Dakota State, 16-3, in the match including 11-2 in the second half, CSUN consistently pressed the Bison defense over the course of the match. However, despite earning several chances at the net, the Matadors were unable to break through on the evening.

After holding a 5-1 edge in shot attempts in the first half, the Matadors came out firing in the second period. CSUN posted four straight attempts at the net following intermission. Cynthia Sanchez put a shot on goal in the 53rd minute after beating her defender and moments later McCallum hit the cross bar off a shot attempt from 20 yards out.

Seemingly in control of the match, an unlucky play at the Matadors' net led to the deciding goal at the 58:45 mark of the match.

Matador goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill saved a shot attempt from Lauren Miller without having to move from her post. On the play, McCaskill stopped the ball but was unable to catch the ball cleanly. As the ball trickled down the left side of the box, Amy Yang rebounded the shot and kicked in the go-ahead goal.

Trailing 1-0, CSUN furiously looked for the equalizer over the remaining minutes of the match. In the 67th minute, the Matadors advanced the ball into the NDSU box, giving McCallum an opportunity at the net. Beating her defender with strong foot work, McCallum fired a low shot but goalkeeper Monica Polgar trapped the ball with a diving play to her right.

The Matadors recorded four shots in the final 15:00 including two more from McCallum but the Bison would hold on down the stretch to earn the victory.

CSUN held a 6-0 advantage on corner kicks on the evening, registering three in each half. 15 total fouls were committed in the match with North Dakota State holding an 8-7 edge.

For the third time already this season, senior Nicole Thompson and sophomore Lindsay Kutscher played the full 90:00 on the pitch. Fellow defender, freshman Amanda Martin competed in all but eight minutes in the contest.

Freshman Bethany Fitzsimmons made her Matador debut in the match, playing eight minutes in the first half. Making her season debut, senior Kyla Diekmann saw action in the final minutes of the second period.

The Matadors continue their three-match homestand on Sunday morning with a matchup against South Dakota. Kick off is slated for 11 a.m. from Matador Soccer Field.

Matadors Drop Home Opener to North Dakota State

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Team Stats

Breanna McCallum

Camille Watson

Kourtney Kutscher

Taylor Hobson

Players Mentioned

Kyla Diekmann

Bethany Fitzsimmons

Kourtney Kutscher

Lindsay Kutscher

Amanda Martin

Breanna McCallum

Jovani McCaskill

Cynthia Sanchez

Nicole Thompson

Camille Watson