CSUN Faces A Pair Of Nationally Ranked Foes

Men's Soccer Notebook

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—The CSUN men's soccer team faces a pair of nationally ranked teams this weekend.

The weekend begins when CSUN hosts No. 17 Cornell. Friday's 7 p.m. matchup against the Big Red will be covered by the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health. The first 200 fans through the turnstiles will receive glow in the dark sunglasses.

Despite losing for the first time Monday night (2-0) to Syracuse, the Big Red are ranked 17th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 this week. Three players; Charles Touche, Emeka Eneil, and John Scearce, have scored two goals this season for Cornell. Touche and Eneil are tied for the team lead in points with five.

Ryan Shellow has played every minute in goal for the Big Red this season. He has made 12 saves in 370 minutes of work. This is the first time CSUN and Cornell are playing men's soccer against each other.

The Matadors (4-2) travel to UCLA at 7 p.m. Sunday night. The audio broadcast from UCLA will be available on GoMatadors.com.

The Bruins are ranked 11th in the United Soccer Coaches Associate Top 25, 13th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll and 14th in the College Soccer News Top 30 Poll this week. UCLA is 4-1 after defeating Omaha 2-1 Wednesday night. Mohammed Kamara scored the game winner against Maryland last weekend and leads the team in goals with four.

Cole Martinez is 2-0 in goal for the Bruins. He has made four saves in 180 minutes of work. Justin Garces is 1-1 in goal and has also recorded four saves this season. This is the 23rd time that CSUN and UCLA have met with UCLA leading the all-time series 17-2-3. The Bruins have won four in a row in the series dating back to Oct. 22, 2011 when CSUN defeated UCLA 3-2 in Westwood.

For the second week in a row a CSUN men's soccer player has been named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week as Johnny Rodriguez earned the honor Sept. 10.

Rodriguez scored all three goals during CSUN's 1-1 road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The 6-0 junior forward scored the lone Matador goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 9/23 Washington on Friday, heading in a cross from Jumoke Hutton. Rodriguez netted his first career brace in Sunday's 2-1 triumph at Seattle U. He put the Matadors on the board in the 13th minute for a 1-0 lead, then slotted home the game-winner just 1:33 into overtime. Rodriguez, who has scored at least one goal in three straight games, is tied for the team lead with four. He took six shots in the two games, with four of them on frame.

After scoring the most goals in a match in 11 years when CSUN defeated Utah Valley 6-1 Sept. 2, the Matadors are at the top of NCAA Division I in a couple of offensive categories entering the week of Sept. 10. The Matadors are tied with three others for the national lead in assists with 17. CSUN is fourth in total points (43) and is ninth in goals scored (13) in Division I.

Khalid Hunter and Rodriguez are tied for 19th in Division I in goals scored this season with four. Hunter's two game winning goals this season are the sixth most in D-1. Jumoke Hutton and Daniel Trejo are tied for 23rd in Division I in total assists with three.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

CSUN Faces A Pair Of Nationally Ranked Foes

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Players Mentioned

Khalid Hunter

Jumoke Hutton

Johnny Rodriguez

Daniel Trejo