CSUN Opens Three-Match Homestand Thursday vs. UC Riverside

Thursday, October 14

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

UC Riverside

Photo by: Shae Hammond

CSUN Opens Three-Match Homestand Thursday vs. UC Riverside

10/13/2021 11:19:00 AM | Women's Soccer

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer (2-13, 1-4 Big West) returns home for a three-match homestand that begins Thursday night against UC Riverside. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

The Matadors, who have played 11 of 15 matches on the road, will also host Long Beach State on Thursday, Oct. 21 and UC Irvine on Oct. 24 during their longest homestand of the season. Overall, the Matadors will play four of their final five matches of the regular season at home. After visiting Cal State Fullerton (Oct. 28), the Matadors welcome in CSU Bakersfield to Northridge on Oct. 31 in the regular season finale.

CSUN dropped both of its matches last week on the road as UC Santa Barbara (2-0) and Cal Poly (3-0) blanked the Matadors.

On Thursday, the Matadors gave up a goal in the third minute to UCSB but would remain a goal down through the end of the first period. After the Matadors outshot the Gauchos 5-3 in the opening half, UCSB would record seven of the 11 shots in the second period including a goal in the 66th minute that helped put the game away.

Three days later, the Matadors surrendered two goals in the first 26-plus minutes to first-place Cal Poly. The Mustangs would hold the Matadors at bay throughout the match including thwarting a penalty kick in the 37th minute. Cal Poly iced the match in the 70th minute with its third goal of the afternoon. Amanda Delgado would rack up four saves for CSUN in front of the net.

Despite going scoreless last week, the Matadors have seen production from a variety of places on the offensive end this season. A total of 12 Matadors have scored at least one time this season, a feat that was last accomplished by the CSUN team in 2015. The trio of Christiane Sundstrom, Brooke Mobeck and Gabriela Robles lead the team with two goals apiece while Sundstrom has a team-high six points. Cindy Arteaga has registered a team-best three assists to go with five points. In net, Delgado has 43 saves in over 810 minutes this season.

The Matadors have reached the midway point of the Big West Conference season with five matches remaining. CSUN sits in ninth place in the Big West at the moment with three points while the Matadors are six points out of fourth place in the conference. Cal Poly (5-1) leads the league with 15 points followed by UC Santa Barbara (4-1-1) at 13 points and Long Beach State (3-1-1) at 10 points. In fourth place, three teams are tied with nine points, which include UC Irvine (3-1), UC Davis (3-3) and Cal State Fullerton (3-3). UC San Diego is at seven points (2-1-1) while UC Riverside has five points (1-3-2). Below CSUN is Hawai'i (0-4-2, two points) and CSU Bakersfield (0-3-1, one point). The top four teams will advance to the Big West Women's Soccer Championship set to begin Nov. 4.

CSUN leads the all-time series with UC Riverside 13-7 and comes in with a five-match winning streak in the series. Over the last five meetings, CSUN has outscored UCR 9-1 and has notched three home wins over that span. CSUN has won eight of 10 all-time matches at home over the Highlanders including the last six contests. In the team's last meeting in 2019, CSUN won in Riverside 3-1 as Alexis White had two goals and Cora Willcot recorded the game-winner.

A Closer Look at UC Riverside
The Highlanders come in with a 4-7-2 record and 1-3-2 mark in the Big West. UCR went unbeaten last week, first drawing against Hawai'i (1-1) before downing UC Davis 2-1. The Highlanders have played eight of their 13 matches on the road thus far this season and have posted a 2-6 record in those matches. Prior to the season, UC Riverside was picked to finish 10th in the league. Head coach Nat Gonzalez is in his ninth season leading the Highlanders.

Alexandra Hargrave has a team-high three goals for the Highlanders while Alexis Vera has collected two goals. Two of Hargraves' three goals have been game-winners this season. In total, the Highlanders have 12 goals as a team with nine players at least recording one. Cassia Souza and Caela Kaio have split time in front of the net with Souza accumulating the most time with over 600 minutes played to go with 38 saves and a 2.04 goals-against-average.

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