CSUN Hosts Cal State Fullerton in Big West Title Rematch

Sunday, October 7

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

CSUN Hosts Cal State Fullerton in Big West Title Rematch

10/4/2018 10:50:00 AM | Women's Soccer

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer (4-5-1, 0-2-0 BWC) continues a three-match homestand on Sunday as the Matadors host Cal State Fullerton in a rematch of last season's Big West Tournament final. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. from Matador Soccer Field. The game will stream live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health.

The Matadors are coming off a tough week on the pitch where they dropped their first two Big West matches. CSUN suffered a 1-0 setback at Cal Poly last Friday night before falling to Hawai'i, 2-1, in overtime.

The Mustangs edged the Matadors behind a goal in the 53rd minute. Amanda Delgado saved a shot from Jessica Johnson but a second shot from Sydney Knauer into an open net proved to be the difference in the match. Payton Jo Armijo racked up five shots in the match with two on goal while Amy Aquino finished with three shots. Delgado collected five saves in between the pipes.

The Rainbow Wahine struck first in the fourth minute against the Matadors as Raisa Strom-Okimoto gave Hawai'i an early 1-0 lead. The Matadors looked for the equalizer for nearly the entire match. With the final seconds ticking off the clock, the Matadors would even the match in dramatic fashion. On their last possible possession, Destinney Duron found Lindsay Kutscher for a game-tying goal with two seconds left to play. Despite the thrilling goal, Hawai'i rebounded to win the match in the 100th minute off a goal from Sarah Lau. The loss was the Matadors' first home conference defeat since October 22, 2015 when Long Beach State prevailed 1-0.

Kutscher's goal on Sunday was her ninth career strike with the Matadors. Marissa Favela and Kutscher are on the doorstep of cracking the Matadors' all-time career Top 10 scoring list heading into the final weeks of the season. With 10 career goals, Favela could enter a 10th place tie with Melissa Cleal (1999-2002) with one more goal this season. Duron's ninth career helper last Sunday also put her one assist shy of the Matadors' all-time assist list.

On the season, 10 different Matadors have recorded a point while seven have scored at least one goal. Favela and Bethany Fitzsimmons share the team lead with three goals. Missing the past three games, Alyssa Aguilar still leads the Matadors with three assists, followed closely by Payton Jo Armijo with two. Delgado has seen the most time in net with over 566 minutes played as she has racked up 30 saves and a 0.95 goals-against-average.

Cal State Fullerton holds a 15-7-2 all-time record over the Matadors. Last season, the teams met twice with CSUN going winless in both matches. After Fullerton took the regular season meeting 3-0, the squads battled to a 1-1 draw in the Big West Tournament championship game. The Titans would advance to the NCAA Tournament after winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-3. Favela scored via a penalty kick in last year's tournament match against the Titans, helping send the match into overtime. The Matadors have won just once over the last seven meetings with the Titans, with that win coming at Matador Soccer Field in 2016 (1-0).

Still seeking their first home win this season (0-4-0), the Matadors will wrap up a three-match homestand next Sunday against UC Riverside. The Highlanders enter the second week of Big West play with an undefeated 10-0-1 overall record.

A Closer Look at Cal State Fullerton
The Titans are also winless heading into week two of the Big West Conference schedule. Fullerton is 3-8-2 overall on the season and 0-1-1 in conference play. Last week, the Titans played to a 1-1 draw against Long Beach State before falling to UC Riverside 3-1. On the road this season, Fullerton is 1-4-1.

Scoring last week against UCR, senior Nano Oronoz is tied for fourth in the Big West Conference with five goals to go with an assist and 11 points. Oronoz was named to the All-Big West First Team in 2017 and to the Preseason All-Big West Team this season. The tandem of junior Atlanta Primus and freshman Kristen Swales have three goals apiece on the year while junior Dani Baldwin has tallied two goals. Sophomore Tianna Sanders is third in the Big West in saves (50) while she has posted a 1.52 GAA.