California State University at Northridge
SIUE
CSUN Continues Roadtrip at SIU-Edwardsville, No. 8 UCLA
9/8/2016 8:29:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Matadors Travel for Contests with Cougars, Bruins
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN Matadors (2-1-0) continue their five-match roadtrip in non-conference action with contests against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars and the No. 8 UCLA Bruins. The Matadors and Cougars will meet for the first time in program history on Friday, Sept. 9 in Illinois in a game slated for a 5 p.m. (PT) kick off. Three days later, CSUN returns to California for its first match since Aug. 26 when the Matadors take on the sixth-ranked Bruins on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Drake Stadium. There will be live video and stats for the CSUN-SIUE contest while the UCLA-CSUN match will also feature live stats. Fans are also encouraged to check with the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter accounts (@GoMatadors, @CSUNMensSoccer) for updates throughout the weekend.
Last week, the Matadors split a pair of contests in Albuquerque, NM as part of The TLC Plumbing & Utility on the campus of the University of New Mexico. After suffering a 2-0 defeat to the host Lobos, the Matadors rebounded with a 2-1, double-overtime victory against Air Force to conclude its time at the event.
Against the Falcons, sophomore Nicholas Grinde put CSUN ahead in the 71st minute with his second goal of the season. After Air Force tied the match in the 89th minute, senior Richard Martinez took a feed from Grinde and found the side netting in 102nd minute to give the Matadors their first overtime victory since the 2014 season. In net, senior Kevin Marquez recorded a career-high seven saves in the victory over Air Force and leads the Big West with 19 stops on the season.
This week offers a pair of tough tests for the Matadors. SIU-Edwardsville is a rugged team that has allowed just three goals on the season. The Cougars are coming off a solid 2015 season and are looking to build off that campaign and get a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 8 UCLA offers another potent foe for the Matadors. The Bruins are coming off a 6-1 win over then No. 1 Akron and have also recorded a 1-1 draw at Maryland. The Matadors will be looking for their third win in the all-time series with UCLA.
A Closer Look at SIU-Edwardsville
The Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars will meet CSUN in men's soccer for the first time ever Friday evening in a match at Ralph Korte Stadium. The Cougars compete in the Missouri Valley Conference and are coming off a 12-4-2 campaign last season and SIUE was picked to repeat as conference champions again in 2016.
This year, the Cougars are off to a 0-1-2 start through the first two weekends of play. SIUE opened the year with home draws against Northern Illinois and Valparaiso and then fell 2-0 at Butler on Sept. 3. In the exhibition season, SIUE played to scoreless draws with Notre Dame and Kentucky.
Austin Ledbetter, who was named to the Missouri Athletic Commission's Hermann Trophy Watch List, has the team's only goal on the season. He converted from the penalty spot in a 1-1 draw with Northern Illinois on Aug. 26. In net, Kyle Del Santo has played all 310 minutes for SIUE and carries several impressive numbers into the match. He holds a 0.87 goals-against-average, nine saves, a .750 save percentage and a shutout.
Friday's contest figures to be a physical affair. SIUE has committed 37 fouls in its first three games, an average of over 12 per contest, while CSUN has committed 41 in its first three matches, an average of nearly 14 per contest. Mario Sanchez is in his second season as the head coach of the Cougars.Â
A Closer Look at No. 8 UCLA
The No. 8 UCLA Bruins will take on the Matadors on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles. The Bruins hold a 15-2-3 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last two meetings. CSUN's two victories in the series came at CSUN in 2007 (3-0) and at UCLA in 2011 (3-2).
The Bruins carry a 2-1-1 record into Monday's contest, having defeated Akron (6-1) and Cal State Fullerton (1-0), drew with Maryland (1-1) and lost to Duke (1-0). Brian Iloski and Abi Danladi each have two goals on the year while Jackson Yuell leads the squad with five assists. Four other Bruins have scored in 2016.
In net, Juan Cervantes has played every second of action for the Bruins in 2016. He carries a 0.70 goals-against-average, 19 saves and an .864 save percentage into Monday's contest. UCLA's opponents have out-shot the Bruins 57-46 but UCLA holds a 26-22 advantage in shots on frame.
