CSUN Squares Off With San Jose State, #21 Pepperdine in Home Matches

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer (3-1-2) returns home for a pair of matches inside the friendly confines of Matador Soccer Field. On Friday, the Matadors host San Jose State at 7 p.m. and No. 21 Pepperdine visits CSUN for a Sunday evening matchup at 6 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network via Big West.TV.

The Matadors extended their unbeaten streak to three games after defeating Ball State last Friday, 1-0, and playing to a 0-0 draw at San Diego two nights later.

Freshman forward Bethany Fitzsimmons netted her first career goal in the 35th minute to lift the Matadors to victory over Ball State. The CSUN defense held the Cardinals scoreless as goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill made three saves in net to earn the shutout. Against the Toreros, the Matadors registered their third consecutive shutout by holding San Diego scoreless over 110 minutes of hard fought action. McCaskill again registered a clean sheet, saving two including a late shot in double overtime.

With Fitzsimmons' goal against the Cardinals, the Matadors possess six different players with goals on the season. Sophomore Lindsay Kutscher continues to lead the team in scoring with two goals. Credited with helpers on Fitzsimmons' score, seniors Camille Watson and Sylvia Trinh each have a team-leading two assists on the season while five other Matadors have recorded one apiece. Watson leads the team in shot attempts through six matches with 18 and junior Cynthia Sanchez has put a team-best 10 shots on goal out of 14 total shots.

The Matadors earned their fourth shutout in six matches last Sunday. CSUN has not allowed a goal over the last 321 minutes of play and the team has not surrendered any goals in the first half of matches. In the Big West Conference, the Matadors are tied with UC Santa Barbara for the fewest goals allowed on the season with two. Defensive anchor, Nicole Thompson has played every minute this season (580) for CSUN at center back while Kutscher has logged the second-most minutes of the backline (556).

McCaskill became fourth Matador in team history to hit the double-digit mark in career shutouts on Sunday. With her 10th career clean sheet, McCaskill moved into a third-place tie with former teammate Cynthia Tafoya (2012-15) in career shutouts in the Matador record books. Already the all-time leader in goals-against-average in team history, McCaskill lowered her career GAA to 0.72 after 200 minutes of scoreless play last weekend. With a win on Friday, she could also move into the school's all-time top five in career wins as she holds 11 for her career.

In three all-time meetings, San Jose State holds a 2-1 advantage in the head-to-head matchup with CSUN. The teams met for the first time in 19 seasons in 2015 as the Matadors came back and defeated the Spartans, 4-3, in a thrilling contest. CSUN rallied from two different deficits including a 2-0 hole at the half. Sanchez netted the tying and game-winning goals to lead the Matadors to victory.

Pepperdine leads the all-time series 8-1-2 after posting a 1-0 win in overtime last season against CSUN. In the 2015 contest, a costly Matador foul in overtime resulted in a Pepperdine penalty kick. Kirsten Rodriguez netted the shot, giving the Waves the one-goal victory. The Matadors are 1-3-1 in matches played at Matador Soccer Field in the series as CSUN earned a 2-1 win in its last home match versus the Waves during the 2010 season.

A Closer Look at San Jose State
The Spartans are 2-2-1 on the season including 0-1 in road matches. In its only match last weekend, SJSU dropped a 1-0 decision at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday. San Jose State won the Mountain West Conference Championship last season, earning its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2000.

As a team, the Spartans are tops in the Mountain West Conference with their team 0.53 GAA and SJSU has allowed three goals overall through five matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Paige Simoneau has earned a 0.65 GAA on the season and eight saves. Simoneau also has amassed over 413 minutes in net.

On offense, junior Dorthe Hoppius leads the team with 21 shots and three points on the season. Netting eight goals in 2015, Hoppius earned Mountain West Conference All-First Team honors. In the Spartans' match with CSUN last season, Hoppius recorded the team's first hat trick since 2010. Junior Sabrina Miller and senior Alexis Venegas have the Spartans' other two goals on the year.

A Closer Look at Pepperdine
The nationally ranked Waves own a 4-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in road contests this season. Pepperdine defeated Maryland on the road, 1-0, last Friday but fell at Virginia, 2-0, on Sunday. The Waves have made the NCAA Tournament three of the last six seasons including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2014. Last season, Pepperdine finished 8-9-2 and 3-6-0 in the West Coast Conference.

Netting a golden goal at Maryland, senior Rylee Baisden leads the team with four goals and 10 points. Last season, Baisden earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention as a defender. Freshman Nicole Leggio is second on the team in scoring this season with three goals while three other Waves have also hit the net.

Senior goalkeeper Hannah Seabert has totaled over 544 minutes in net and has posted a 0.99 GAA along with 33 saves. In 2015, Seabert racked up 60 saves and finished with an 0.94 GAA.

CSUN Squares Off With San Jose State, #21 Pepperdine in Home Matches

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Players Mentioned

Bethany Fitzsimmons

Lindsay Kutscher

Jovani McCaskill

Cynthia Sanchez

Cynthia Tafoya

Nicole Thompson

Sylvia Trinh

Camille Watson