Thursday, October 31
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
11-5-3, 5-2-0
1
vs
0
Long Beach State
4-12-0, 2-5-0
1
2
F
Long Beach St.
0
0
0
CSUN
1
0
1
Team Stats
LBSU
CSUN
Goals
0
1
Shots
9
9
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
3
5
Corners
4
2
Fouls
10
12
Scoring Plays
Fitzsimmons, Bethany (6)
Assisted By: DeWitt, Avery , Gilbert, Sydney
Off a free kick from near midfield , bal
16:50
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerMF
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
Photo by: Shae Hammond
Matadors Shutout Long Beach State, Move Into First-Place Tie
10/31/2019 9:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer (11-5-3, 5-2 Big West) picked up three key points in the Big West Tournament race, defeating Long Beach State 1-0 on Thursday evening at Matador Soccer Field. The Matadors' win moves them into a first-place tie with Cal State Fullerton (15 points apiece), setting up a showdown between the two teams for the regular season league title on Sunday at Titan Stadium.
Junior Bethany Fitzsimmons scored for the third-straight match and for the sixth time on the season. Sophomore Amanda Delgado racked up her seventh shutout of the year to go with five saves.
The teams finished with nine shots apiece in the match with the Beach posting a narrow 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Long Beach State earned more corner kicks at 4-2 while CSUN was whistled for 12 of the 22 fouls. Both Delgado and Cora Willcot saw the yellow card on the night.
FIRST HALF
Fitzsimmons came out firing in the opening minutes of the match, putting a shot on frame in the fifth minute and missing wide in the eighth minute. Delgado kept the ball out of the net for the Matadors, saving two shot attempts from Sierra Castles. Moments later, CSUN would draw a foul just inside the midline, leading to another scoring chance for Fitzsimmons. Avery DeWitt took the free kick and fired a long ball near the top of the box where Sydney Gilbert headed the ball backward. Fitzsimmons picked up the ball at the 12-yard mark and attempted a quick right-footed shot that struck the top half of the netting to give the Matadors a 1-0 lead.
CSUN would hold the Beach to three shots in the first half and to just one shot attempt after the 14th minute, which was blocked. DeWitt and Stephanie Gallardo each missed wide of the net for the Matadors as the score remained 1-0 heading into intermission.
SECOND HALF
Long Beach State came out of the halftime break pressing the Matador defense. Kaylee Ramirez missed wide of the net in the 55th minute and Elysia Laramie had a sold look 11 minutes later from the center of the box. Laramie had daylight for a moment on a bouncing pass but she sent the ball wide left with Delgado protecting the left near post.
Cindy Arteaga came off the bench and gave the Matadors a boost with several solids plays up the field. Arteaga put a shot on frame in the 73rd minute and just missed wide right from above the box where she had open space. With the final ticks coming off the clock, Delgado made perhaps the play of the night in the 83rd minute from her back on a bouncer at the six-yard mark. Delgado was able to two-hand the ball before it slipped out. However, defenders Ify Mbeledogu and Gabriela Robles cleared the ball to prevent any damage. The Matador goalkeeper made two more saves in the final minutes to help CSUN secure the victory.
GAME NOTES
With tonight's win, the Matadors have secured a 4-0 record against league opponents at home. It is just the second time in team history that the Matadors have gone 4-0 against Big West foes in a season and the first time since 2010. CSUN also posted four-straight shutouts in those games, a feat that had only been accomplished twice before (2001 and 2016) in team history.
CSUN also knocked off Long Beach State for the first time since 2013, snapping a seven-match winless streak in the series.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH KEITH WEST
"I think that's why you call it a team. It's on any given day, players have to make plays. It was Ify's number today [to start on defense] and she stepped up and played great. Rios got some minutes tonight, Yanez got some minutes tonight, and Lex [White] started one of her first games. Cindy was fantastic tonight as well and I can go on and on and list the players who did well. I'm proud of the group as a whole. We knew it was going to take a team effort and we were going to have to go 90 minutes tonight to get this result. They did just that and I'm proud of them."
UP NEXT
The Matadors travel to Cal State Fullerton on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of the match would win the league title and host the Big West Conference Tournament beginning Thursday, Nov. 7. Potentially still alive for a conference crown should CSUN and Fullerton tie, Hawai'i is currently third in the conference standings with 14 points with one match to play. UC Santa Barbara sits in fourth place at 11 points with matches scheduled for Friday and Sunday. UC Irvine will play twice more over the next three days with hopes of still securing one of the top four tournament spots.
#UniteTheValley
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Junior Bethany Fitzsimmons scored for the third-straight match and for the sixth time on the season. Sophomore Amanda Delgado racked up her seventh shutout of the year to go with five saves.
The teams finished with nine shots apiece in the match with the Beach posting a narrow 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Long Beach State earned more corner kicks at 4-2 while CSUN was whistled for 12 of the 22 fouls. Both Delgado and Cora Willcot saw the yellow card on the night.
FIRST HALF
Fitzsimmons came out firing in the opening minutes of the match, putting a shot on frame in the fifth minute and missing wide in the eighth minute. Delgado kept the ball out of the net for the Matadors, saving two shot attempts from Sierra Castles. Moments later, CSUN would draw a foul just inside the midline, leading to another scoring chance for Fitzsimmons. Avery DeWitt took the free kick and fired a long ball near the top of the box where Sydney Gilbert headed the ball backward. Fitzsimmons picked up the ball at the 12-yard mark and attempted a quick right-footed shot that struck the top half of the netting to give the Matadors a 1-0 lead.
CSUN would hold the Beach to three shots in the first half and to just one shot attempt after the 14th minute, which was blocked. DeWitt and Stephanie Gallardo each missed wide of the net for the Matadors as the score remained 1-0 heading into intermission.
SECOND HALF
Long Beach State came out of the halftime break pressing the Matador defense. Kaylee Ramirez missed wide of the net in the 55th minute and Elysia Laramie had a sold look 11 minutes later from the center of the box. Laramie had daylight for a moment on a bouncing pass but she sent the ball wide left with Delgado protecting the left near post.
Cindy Arteaga came off the bench and gave the Matadors a boost with several solids plays up the field. Arteaga put a shot on frame in the 73rd minute and just missed wide right from above the box where she had open space. With the final ticks coming off the clock, Delgado made perhaps the play of the night in the 83rd minute from her back on a bouncer at the six-yard mark. Delgado was able to two-hand the ball before it slipped out. However, defenders Ify Mbeledogu and Gabriela Robles cleared the ball to prevent any damage. The Matador goalkeeper made two more saves in the final minutes to help CSUN secure the victory.
GAME NOTES
With tonight's win, the Matadors have secured a 4-0 record against league opponents at home. It is just the second time in team history that the Matadors have gone 4-0 against Big West foes in a season and the first time since 2010. CSUN also posted four-straight shutouts in those games, a feat that had only been accomplished twice before (2001 and 2016) in team history.
CSUN also knocked off Long Beach State for the first time since 2013, snapping a seven-match winless streak in the series.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH KEITH WEST
"I think that's why you call it a team. It's on any given day, players have to make plays. It was Ify's number today [to start on defense] and she stepped up and played great. Rios got some minutes tonight, Yanez got some minutes tonight, and Lex [White] started one of her first games. Cindy was fantastic tonight as well and I can go on and on and list the players who did well. I'm proud of the group as a whole. We knew it was going to take a team effort and we were going to have to go 90 minutes tonight to get this result. They did just that and I'm proud of them."
UP NEXT
The Matadors travel to Cal State Fullerton on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winner of the match would win the league title and host the Big West Conference Tournament beginning Thursday, Nov. 7. Potentially still alive for a conference crown should CSUN and Fullerton tie, Hawai'i is currently third in the conference standings with 14 points with one match to play. UC Santa Barbara sits in fourth place at 11 points with matches scheduled for Friday and Sunday. UC Irvine will play twice more over the next three days with hopes of still securing one of the top four tournament spots.
#UniteTheValley
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