California State University Northridge Athletics
CSUN Top 10 – Men's Soccer Defeats UCI Twice In A Week
6/1/2020 10:44:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Beginning June 3 and running through August 5, CSUN will present its top-10 sports moments from the 2019-20 year. Today's moment, No. 10, features CSUN posting back-to-back wins over UC Irvine in the final match of the men's soccer season and the first round of the 2019 Big West Tournament
Entering the 2019 regular-season finale, CSUN was in a must-win position to advance to the Big West Tournament. A win at UC Irvine, coupled with a loss by Cal State Fullerton (hosting UC Riverside) and/or Sacramento State (at No. 23 UC Davis) represented the necessary combo the Matadors need to make the Big West Tournament.
CSUN clinched the bid into the tournament when the Matadors defeated the Anteaters 1-0 Nov. 2. The CSUN victory combined with a Sacramento State loss (1-0) at UC Davis earned the Matadors the No. 6 seed.
Redshirt freshman Marvin Arias earned the Matadors the lead in the 29th minute when he scored his first goal of the season. Daniel Trejo was credited with his sixth assist of the season on the play. CSUN led 1-0 at halftime, keeping an aggressive Anteaters' offense at bay. UC Irvine took 12 shots, compared to four for the Matadors in the first 45 minutes. CSUN goalie Paul Lewis made five saves on the five UCI shots on goal.
The Anteaters recorded four shots in the first 20+ minutes of the second half. Three were on goal with Lewis posting saves on each effort. An Eder Oliva shot was going low and to the left in the 77th minute before Lewis recorded the save. The rebound came out front where Jose Ortiz put the back towards the CSUN net. Lewis made the save to keep UCI off the board.
CSUN threatened in the 84th minute when a Julio Rubio attempt was blocked and resulted in a corner kick. Johnny Rodriguez's shot just inside the UCI box was blocked. Christian Gutierrez's shot on the ensuing Anteaters' possession was blocked by the Matadors. UC Irvine was awarded a corner kick that CSUN successfully defended.
The Matadors' corner kick with 1:55 to play was pushed away by the Anteaters. A CSUN foul with 36 seconds to go was followed by a UCI free-kick. Oliva's attempt six seconds later was blocked, securing the victory for CSUN. The Anteaters outshot the Matadors 22-10 (10-2 on goal). The 10 Lewis saves are the most in a match by a Matador goalie since Adam Hobbs made 10 saves against UC Davis on Oct. 8, 2015.
The victory not only sent CSUN into the postseason, but it also kept UCI from clinching a first-place tie and dropped UC Irvine into the No. 3 seed, resulting in a rematch between the Matadors and the Anteaters four days later on Nov. 6. Entering the first round of the Big West Tournament, Arias (offensive) and Lewis (defensive) both earned Big West Player of the Week honors.
CSUN upset UC Irvine 3-2 in the first-round matchup. Rubio gave the Matadors an early lead when he scored his second goal of the year in the seventh minute. Trejo picked up his seventh assist of the year on the play. The Anteaters posted shots in the 13th, 14th, and 17th minutes which the CSUN defense turned away.
Trejo extended the advantage to 2-0 in the 23rd minute with his ninth goal of the year. Trejo's blast entered the UCI goal on the lower left part of the net. Samuel Salter was given the assist.
UCI appeared to have scored on the ensuing Anteater possession, but UC Irvine was whistled for offsides.
Jose Ortiz's attempt from in front was saved by Lewis. He knocked the ball out-of-bounds which resulted in a UC Irvine corner kick. The Matadors turned away the threat. The teams each took one shot in the first portion of the second half. Neither shot was on goal. The Anteaters recorded two shots in a three-minute span that began in the 58th minute. Each shot was off goal.
Christian Gutierrez's effort in the 66th minute off a set-piece was saved by Lewis. The ball went out of bounds, earning UCI a corner kick. The ball again went out of bounds for a second Anteaters' corner. The Matadors' defense was able to defend the offensive threat successfully.
Khalid Hunter took advantage of a rebound that came off of a Rodriguez set piece in the 73rd minute. Hunter's shot went low and to the right and into the UCI net. Gutierrez cut the Matadors' lead to two in the 82nd minute. Roberto Molina's free-kick was sent towards the CSUN net where Gutierrez was able to gain control and put it past Lewis.
Molina found the ball from just in front of the CSUN net where Lewis was able to make a save on the left side. The resulting Anteaters' corner would result in a Victor Falck shot that went wide. Ortiz's left-footed strike with 1:14 to play made it 3-2. UC Irvine was aggressive in the final minute, but could not get any closer.
The Anteaters outshot the Matadors 17-7 in the match, 6-4 on goal. UCI had 11 corner kicks in the match, compared to one for CSUN. Lewis made four saves. The three CSUN goals marked the first time since Sept. 27 at Omaha (2-1 OT win) in which the Matadors scored more than one goal in a match. The CSUN win was the fifth straight in the series against the Anteaters.
The victory allowed the Matadors to return to the Big West semifinals for the first time since 2016 when CSUN won the Big West Tournament. In the semifinals, CSUN fell to then No. 15 UC Santa Barbara 2-0. The Gauchos would end up advancing to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament after losing the finals 2-0 to UC Davis.
~#UniteTheValley~
