CSUN Hosts Grand Canyon, San Diego to Wrap Up Non-Conference Play

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Women's Soccer (3-2-4) concludes its non-conference schedule with a pair of matches at Matador Soccer Field this weekend. The Matadors host Grand Canyon under the lights on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing San Diego on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network via Big West.TV.

The Matadors return home after a 1-2-1 road trip that culminated on Monday in a 3-0 loss at Texas Tech. Forced to compete on Monday morning due to weather washing away Sunday's scheduled start, CSUN got off to a slow start as the Red Raiders scored in the third minute to take the early lead. The game remained 1-0 until the 42nd minute, as Texas Tech struck again to take a two-goal lead into intermission. The Matadors surrendered another early goal in the second half and were unable to make up the gap down the stretch.

Senior forward Cynthia Sanchez collected a team-high three shots against the Red Raiders while senior goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill racked up six saves in net.

Heading into the final week of non-conference competition, junior Marissa Favela leads the Matadors with four goals and 10 points to go along with two assists and 24 shots. Sanchez is a close second with two goals while she has a team-best 26 shots. Five Matadors have hit the back of the net this season and nine have collected points. Senior Sylvia Trinh has a team-high three assists on the year.

McCaskill has racked up over 800 minutes in between the posts and notched three shutouts to go along with 36 saves and an 0.99 goals-against-average. On defense, the tandem of junior Lindsay Kutscher and sophomore Amanda Martin have played every single minute on the field while junior Christina Nixon is close behind with over 770 minutes played on the backline.

In the first national NCAA RPI rankings released this week, the Matadors were positioned 59th and the second highest among all Big West Conference teams. Long Beach State was placed just above CSUN at 50th. Other Big West teams ranked in the Top 100 include Cal State Fullerton (68), UC Irvine (82) and UC Santa Barbara (95).

Grand Canyon and the Matadors have met just once before with the 'Lopes claiming a 2-1 win in double overtime 20 years ago in CSUN. San Diego has a 10-3-1 lead over CSUN in the all-time head-to-head series. The Matadors and Toreros battled to a scoreless draw in San Diego last season. CSUN's last victory against USD came three seasons ago as the Matadors posted a 2-0 home victory.

A Closer Look at Grand Canyon
GCU is 3-6-1 this season and are coming into Friday's match with a three-match losing streak. The 'Lopes fell to Stetson last Friday and to Hawai'i on Sunday, both by a 2-1 decision. Senior Madison Cox has recorded a team-best three goals to go along with 16 shots with 12 on goal. Senior Milla Benedetti has posted two goals while registering 34 shots. Senior Blakely Fraasch has played every minute in net and amassed a 1.07 GAA with 37 saves and two shutouts. Last season, GCU finished 7-9-2 with a 3-2-2 record in the Western Athletic Conference.

A Closer Look at San Diego
The Toreros are 1-7 and have dropped the last three matches. In last week's action, USD suffered losses to UC Irvine (1-0) and USC (3-1). Before facing the Matadors, San Diego will visit Cal State Fullerton on Friday. Junior Summer Mason has two of her team's five goals this season to go along with an assist and 15 shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Amber Michel has posted a 1.84 GAA and 36 saves in over 734 minutes. USD went 10-8-1 last season including 5-4 in the West Coast Conference.

CSUN Hosts Grand Canyon, San Diego to Wrap Up Non-Conference Play

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Players Mentioned

Marissa Favela

Lindsay Kutscher

Amanda Martin

Jovani McCaskill

Christina Nixon

Cynthia Sanchez

Sylvia Trinh