CSUN Men's Soccer Opens Conference Play This Week

Men's Soccer Notebook

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—The CSUN men's soccer team opens The Big West play this week with two matches. The Matadors (3-2-3) open Big West Conference action this week with two matches.

CSUN hosts UC Riverside Wednesday night. The action begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call. The Matadors will then travel to UC Santa Barbara Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup. Coverage is scheduled to be available via ESPN+. Links to both matches can be found on GoMatadors.com.

ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders are 1-5-2 after dropping a 2-1 decision to cross-town rival California Baptist last Thursday in Riverside. Brendan Clark and Noah Lopez are tied for fifth in the Big West in goals with three. Lopez is tied for fifth in the league in assists (3) with teammate Oscar Penate. Lopez is fourth in the Big West in points with nine.

Carlos Gonzalez has played all 720 minutes in goal for UCR. He is 50th in Division I in saves per game (3.88). The Highlanders defeated CSUN 1-0 last season in Riverside. The Matadors lead the all-time series 26-7-8.

ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos begin the week with a 5-2-2 record and will host UC San Diego Wednesday night in the Gauchos' Big West opener. UC Santa Barbara received six votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and is ranked 27th in the College Soccer News Top 30.

Salvador Aguilar was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row on Sept. 26. He scored the game-winning goal against Cal Poly last Wednesday before scoring the lone UCSB goal against nationally ranked Stanford last Saturday. Aguilar is second in the conference in goals scored with five which is the 19th most in Division I this week. He is third in the league in points and is 40th in Division I with 11.

UCSB goalie Leroy Zeller is fourth in Division I in minutes played with 810. His 1.22 goals against average are 90th in D-1 and fourth in the Big West. Zeller is fifth in the league in saves (27). The Matadors defeated the Gauchos 2-0 last season in Northridge. UCSB leads the all-time series 27-15-6.

WENZEL NAMED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THE SECOND TIME
CSUN goalie Cooper Wenzel was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for the second time on Sept. 26. Wenzel made a career-high seven saves in the Matadors' 1-1 tie against Saint Mary's on Sept. 21. The redshirt sophomore charted four saves as he posted his second shutout of the season on Sept. 24 as CSUN and UTRGV played to a 0-0 draw. He was named The Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29.

Entering this week, Wenzel is 22nd in Division I in minutes played (720). After making a career-high seven saves against Saint Mary's on Sept. 21, Wenzel is 25th in Division I in saves (34) and 32nd in Division I in saves per game. He is third in the Big West in both categories. He begins the week with a 1.63 goals against average and a .723 save percentage.

~#UniteTheValley~

CSUN Men's Soccer Opens Conference Play This Week

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Players Mentioned

Cooper Wenzel