California State University at Northridge
CSU Bakersfield
Matadors Open Big West Men's Soccer Action This Week
9/28/2021 10:11:00 AM | Men's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN opens Big West Conference Men's soccer play this week with a pair of matches.
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The Matadors welcome CSU Bakersfield into league play for the first time Wednesday night when the teams meet at 7 p.m.
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CSUB is coming off a 12-day layoff after posting their first win of 2021 when the Roadrunners (1-5-1) defeated Gonzaga 2-1 Sept. 17.
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Carlos Armendariz leads the Big West in shots with 24 while Aodan O'Hara is third in the league in goals with four. O'Hara is tied for sixth in Big West in points (8) with Issa Badawiya of UC Riverside. Scott Pengelly has played every minute in goal for the 'Runners this season. He has made 16 saves and has posted a 1.80 goals against average.Â
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This is the 27th meeting between the two clubs with CSUN holding a 24-0-2 series advantage. This is the first time since 2016 that the Matadors are playing CSUB when CSUN defeated the 'Runners 4-1 in Bakersfield.Â
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Ghizal Hasan will be on the call on ESPN+. An Audio stream featuring Alex Naveja will be available at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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Conference action continues Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. when CSUN travels to Cal Poly. The Mustangs will produce a video stream of the matchup with the link available on GoMatadors.com.
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Cal Poly is 2-4-1 after losing a non-conference match to UC Santa Barbara 2-0 at UCSB on Saturday night. The Mustangs open league play Wednesday at Sacramento State. Â
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Neil Boyal leads the Big West in assists with four and begins this week 33rd in Division I in the category. Jacob Glass has scored three goals this season to lead the team and is tied for sixth in the conference in the category. Carlos Arce-Hurtado has played every minute in goal for the Mustangs in 2021. He has made 17 saves which is the ninth-most in the Big West to begin this week. His 1.23 goals-against-average is the fifth-best in the conference as the week begins.
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This is the 60th all-time meeting between CSUN and Cal Poly with the Matadors leading the series 31-18-10. The Mustangs defeated CSUN 2-0 on Oct. 20, 2019, in the last match between the two clubs.
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Giovanni Aguilar's goal with 3:13 remaining in overtime lifted CSUN to a 1-0 victory over Portland Sept. 20 at Matador Soccer Field. Aguilar scored the game-winner by dribbling the ball inside the Portland box after taking possession on a deflection. His shot came from three yards out and broke the Matadors' seven-game losing streak that began the 2021 campaign.
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Saint Mary's defeated CSUN (1-8) 3-1 in the final non-conference men's soccer match of 2021 for the Matadors on Sept. 24. Khalid Hunter gave the Matadors the lead in the fourth minute. Jamar Ricketts dribbled the ball deep into the Gaels' offensive end and found Hunter in front.
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~#UniteTheValley~
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