CSUN Hosts Key Big West Matches This Week vs. UCSD and UCSB

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Soccer returns home for a pair of pivotal conference matches with two weeks left in the regular season. The Matadors host UC San Diego on Wednesday night before CSUN wraps up the week with a Saturday night matchup with UC Santa Barbara. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

LAST WEEK
CSUN (3-6-6, 1-3-2 Big West) picked up four key Big West points over two road contests.

The Matadors battled back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half at UC Davis on Wednesday with Jamar Ricketts netting the equalizer in the 63rd minute. CSUN's defense held the Aggies off the scoreboard the rest of the way for a 1-1 draw.

Three nights later, CSUN pulled out a thrilling 1-0 win at UC Irvine despite playing a man down for over 45 minutes. Ricketts would again come up big for CSUN, scoring the game winner in the 89th minute on a long drive up the field. Freshman goalkeeper Merrick Cook notched his first career shutout, posting four saves. The win was CSUN's first in Big West action this season.

CSUN SWEEPS BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS
The tandem of Jamar Ricketts and Merrick Cook received recognition from The Big West this week. After leading the CSUN offense with two goals, Ricketts earned his second Big West Offensive Player of the Week award of the season. Cook would make just his third and fourth career appearances last week as he finished with seven total saves and one goal allowed en route to winning Big West Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors.

SENIOR SALUTE
CSUN will honor a four-member senior class prior to Saturday's home finale. On the backline, Bryan Bustamante is the lone senior to play his entire career in a Matador uniform, playing in 37 games and posting a goal with two assists. Another defender, Michael Arrington has lettered three seasons with CSUN and competed in 36 games while registering one goal and three assists. AJ Johnson, an All-Big West First Team midfielder last season, has helped anchor the backline over the past two seasons and started 30 games and posted one goal with an assist. Another midfielder, Kanata Furutani has lettered the past two seasons, picking up a goal in 23 career matches.

MATADORS ON THE LEADERBOARDS
Two Matadors are currently ranked in The Big West's top-10 in goals as Jamar Ricketts is fourth (six goals) and Jorge Solorzano is sixth (five goals). Ricketts also is ranked second in points (17) and third in assists (five). Solorzano comes in ninth place on the points list (11) while Michael Arrington is 10th in assists (three). Goalkeeper Cooper Wenzel remains second in saves (22).

CHASING THE POSTSEASON
CSUN has inched closer to the top six in The Big West standings. With five points, the Matadors are two points back of the final postseason spots for the 2023 Big West Championship, which starts Nov. 1. In fact, the Matadors are just three points back of the fourth seed at the moment, which would give them home field advantage in a first-round matchup. Cal State Fullerton paces the conference with 15 points while Cal State Bakersfield is tied with UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego for second place. Cal Poly stands at eight points followed by UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Riverside at seven points apiece and Sacramento State is below CSUN at four points.

SERIES HISTORY
CSUN leads UC San Diego 4-0 in the all-time series with 1-0 wins over the past two seasons. The Matadors have also won three of those four games at home.

In a series dating back to 1981, UCSB leads CSUN 28-15-6. The Gauchos prevailed on their home field last season in a 4-0 win. Prior to that match, CSUN snapped a seven-match winless streak against UCSB in 2021 with a 2-0 win.

SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
The Tritons (4-8-3, 3-2-1 Big West) come in tied for second place in The Big West, however, due to the team's reclassification to a Division I program, the team is not eligible for the postseason until next season. UCSD has gone 2-3-2 on the road this year. The team is currently on a two-match winning streak with wins over UC Riverside (5-2) and Cal State Bakersfield (1-0) last week. Inaki Iribarren is ranked second in The Big West in goals with eight and third in points with 16. The tandem of Alessandro Allen and Max Carvalho have four goals apiece. In goal, Mitchell Wilson sports a 1.86 GAA with three shutouts and 38 saves.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos hold an 8-6-1 overall record with a 3-2-1 mark in Big West play. Last season's runner-up in The Big West, UCSB is tied for second in the conference standings. The team has posted a 2-4 record in road matches. In last week's action, UCSB fell to Cal State Bakersfield 1-0 before winning the rivalry matchup with Cal Poly 1-0 over the weekend. Nemo Phillipp paces the team with four goals and 11 points while Lucas Gonzalez and Nicolas Willumsen have scored three apiece. Goalkeeper Leroy Zeller sports a 1.79 GAA with three shutouts and 41 saves.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Hosts Key Big West Matches This Week vs. UCSD and UCSB

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Players Mentioned

Michael Arrington

Bryan Bustamante

Merrick Cook

Kanata Furutani

AJ Johnson

Jamar Ricketts

Jorge Solorzano

Cooper Wenzel