Matadors Battle San Jose State to Scoreless Draw

Thursday, August 10

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

San Jose State

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Matadors Battle San Jose State to Scoreless Draw

8/10/2017 10:16:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Final Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer fought San Jose State to a 0-0 draw in an exhibition match on Thursday evening at Matador Soccer Field. Amy Aquino and Cynthia Sanchez led the way with two shots apiece while goalkeepers Jenna Koziol and Jovani McCaskill combined for the shutout.

San Jose State led the way in shot attempts, holding a 14-8 lead but the Matadors posted a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. A total of 19 fouls were called in the contest with San Jose State recording a slight 10-9 edge. McCaskill racked up four saves in 65 minutes of action while Koziol started the match and picked up a save in her 45 minutes in net.

For CSUN, 22 players saw action including junior Lena Gustafsson and freshmen Madison MacKenzie, Sydney Gilbert, Amy Aquino, Avery DeWitt, Savannah Gourley, Chloe Edwards and Payton Jo Armijo, who all made their Matador debuts.

"I'm very excited to see the future of our team and some of our young players," said head coach Keith West. "Some of these players got minutes tonight that are valuable minutes in the process of getting better. I think our returners also did a very good job for being eight days into camp. I really like where we are right now."

The Big West's top defense all season long last season flashed its calling card once again on Thursday evening. The Matadors, who registered a team-record 15 shutouts last season, slowed down San Jose State throughout the match. The Spartans managed five shots in the first half with only one shot reaching the frame as Gabriella Herrera took a shot from the left wing that Koziol snared cleanly.

On the flip side, the Matadors collected two shots in the opening stanza with their best chance coming in the 35th minute. After a series of headers, Lindsay Kutscher rifled a left foot shot from inside the box but goalkeeper Ana Calero made a quick save.

In the second half, the defensive struggle continued as neither side could break through despite 10 total shots taken. The Spartans posted six shots in the half with one shot on goal while the Matadors finished with four shots with one attempt on goal.

In a close call, McCaskill made a strong save off a Spartan corner kick that found Kristen Amarikwa inside the box. Seeing the play in front of her, McCaskill was able to quickly make a two-handed stop to keep the match scoreless.

Late in the second half, Aquino nearly gave the Matadors the lead on a laser from the top of the box, however Paige Simoneau left her feet for the save.

Each side continued to press into overtime, looking for the winning score including Aquino who delivered a long shot that Simoneau stopped on a diving play. McCaskill collected three saves in the overtime periods as well as two late stops in the second overtime period to ensure a shutout.

After missing last season due to injury, Destinney Duron returned to the pitch and played a team-high 82 minutes while Ariana Tran saw 80 minutes on the field. Koziol, who was taken out of the match at halftime, played the final 11 minutes as a field player.

The Matadors host their second and final exhibition match on Saturday afternoon against Arizona State at 2 p.m.