CSUN Heads To No. 14 Utah Valley

Friday, September 1

Orem, Utah

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Utah Valley

Emmanuel Usen, Jr.

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

CSUN Heads To No. 14 Utah Valley

8/30/2017 9:08:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Houston Native Usen, Jr. Has Prepared For More Than Soccer This Week

Men's Soccer Notebook

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—It's an important week for the CSUN men's soccer program. The Matadors began the 2017 Fall semester Monday as CSUN prepares for a Friday night matchup against No. 14/18 Utah Valley. However, for one Matador, Emmanuel Usen, Jr., his thoughts are off the pitch.

Usen, Jr. from the Houston, TX area, which has been hit hard by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. This is his first-hand account of the ongoing situation in his hometown;

"I was born and raised on 19719 Dusty Creek Drive in the large suburb of Katy, 20 miles northwest of the heart of Houston," Usen, Jr. said. "Being here at CSUN makes it that much harder to see the city I've called home for 21 years almost completely underwater. With countless numbers of phone calls between my immediate family and I, Hurricane Harvey has done more than anyone anticipated. Luckily, my mother evacuated on the highly congested highways to Dallas, which kept my mind a little bit at ease. With information from our neighbors, the water from our pool has overflowed completely onto our lawns, into our garage (where we have a car stationary) and possibly into our first flow. With everyone's front lawns completely destroyed as well as the streets turned into streams. Along with most Houstonians not having flood insurance the damage control is something my parents couldn't estimate."

"(Videos in this story) are from Sunday, Aug. 25 in my neighborhood," Usen, Jr. continued. "With the eye of the storm expected hitting exactly where I live on Wednesday and Thursday of this week I couldn't conjure up the words to ask my brother to send me more videos of the aftermath. Trying to concentrate on athletics and school this past week has definitely been a challenge to say the least. Though these natural disasters hit the world on numerous occasions throughout the year, it's a lot different when it hits home. With people trapped in their homes unable to use roads as you can see, distress has never been a more applicable word to use I feel. And worse, me being here unable to assist my loved ones as well as those who are helpless definitely has kept me up at night."

"Luckily being located in a suburb outside of Houston, this is literally the best-case scenario in relation to some of the damage I've seen to some homes on social media," Usen, Jr. said. "Some very close family friends even had to evacuate their home due to the water levels being up to their chest. I've been taken back to the amount of support I've personally gotten from friends and acquaintances. But I hope this gives a little incite to those around me and to the CSUN community on how devastating this was to not only me personally, but the city of Houston. #prayforhouston."

If you want to donate to the relief efforts for all of the victims of the storm, you can head to the following website; http://www.redcross.org/hp/harvey2. The videos used in this story are courtesy of Usen family.

Back to the pitch, the Matadors face the nationally ranked Wolverines with kick off set for 6 p.m. (PT) Friday night. The Wolverines opened the 2017 season by traveling to then-No. 13 Akron and defeating the Zips 1-0 last Friday night. Giovanny Vazquez scored the lone goal of the match in the 54th minute.

As a result of the victory, Utah Valley moved up to No. 14 in the country in the TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America polls, and entered both the United Soccer Coaches poll, and the College Soccer News poll, both at No. 18. UVU is also ranked second in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll behind the University of Denver, the No. 4 ranked team in the nation.

Senior midfielder Paul Hoffmeister earned preseason All-American honors for the Wolverines. He was also named to the preseason MAC Herman Trophy watch list. UVU, which started its program in 2014, defeated the Matadors 1-0 in Orem last season in the first meeting between the two clubs.

The Matadors split a pair of matches to open the 2017 season last weekend. Usen, Jr.'s penalty kick 4:42 into overtime sent CSUN past Siena 2-1 in the opener last Friday night. A physical game from the start, the Saints used a Matadors' foul to break the seal. CSUN was whistled for a foul in the 24th minute that set up a Siena direct kick. Alejandro Riquelme would connect on the chance and his attempt from 22 yards out went in the top half of the Matadors' net for the 1-0 lead.

CSUN turned up the intensity in the second half, pressuring the Saints on defense which led to a Matadors' takeaway. Julio Rubio dribbled in and took a shot from just inside the 18 that was saved by Siena goalie Aleksa Radosavijevic. The rebound came back out in front where Jordan Kinoshi put home the chance to tie the match at the 49:20 mark.

The Matador defense did not allow a Saints' attempt in the second half, but the teams would remain knotted at one after 90 minutes. The turning point came in the 95th minute. CSUN attacked the Siena net. As the Matadors sent the ball in, a Saints' defender touched the ball with his hand inside the goalkeeper's box. The resulting foul earned the Matadors a penalty kick attempt. Usen, Jr. sent the ball past Radosavljevic on the right side as the Siena goalie went left for the game winner.

Jake Rudel's goal with just over three minutes remaining in the second half gave Saint Mary's a 2-1 victory over CSUN Sunday night. The Gaels took the lead in the 18th minute when Anders Engebretsen dribbled into the Matadors' box. Engebretsen sent a crossing pass to Lucas Andrews in front where he converted on the opportunity.

CSUN put pressure on the Saint Mary's defense. The Matadors finally broke through to tie the match in the 76th minute. Mauricio Lopez passed the ball towards Saint Mary's goalie Remi Prieur. The ball would go off a Gaels' defender and found its way to the right foot of Daniel Trejo. Trejo took his only shot of the match and sent it past Prieur for the goal.

The teams exchanged several offensive chances in the final 15 minutes before the Gaels were able to take advantage of space within the CSUN defense. Jacob Svehlik used his dribble to create the game winning chance for Rudel.

~www.GoMatadors.com~