Thursday, August 17
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
0-1-0, 0-0-0
0
vs
1
Portland
1-0-0, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Portland
1
0
1
CSUN
0
0
0
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Drops Hard-Fought 1-0 Decision to Portland
8/17/2023 9:46:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer dropped its season opener to Portland by a 1-0 decision on Thursday evening at Matador Soccer Field. The Matadors would give a Portland team that made last season's NCAA Tournament a battle for 90 minutes but could not find the equalizer on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Portland would control the pace throughout the first half, outshooting CSUN 5-0 in the opening stanza. The Pilots' goal though came off a CSUN turnover near midfield in the 13th minute of action. Nedya Sawan intercepted a pass from near the sideline before driving up the field and scoring from the top of the box into the left corner of the net. Portland threatened later in the half with strikes from Sawan and Cally Togiai but CSUN withstood each attempt to go into the half only trailing by the 1-0 margin.
CSUN would flip the script in the second half, this time pressuring the Pilots defense in an attempt to even the game up. The Matadors would have their best look of the night in the 78th minute on a free kick near the top of the box. After a Pilot foul was committed nearly resulting in a penalty kick, CSUN took the free kick with good field positioning but Ashly Torres missed high of the net. Ashley Cruz would later just miss a shot from inside the 18 yard line, which was deflected by the defense. Although not credited with a shot, Daisy Torres created a scoring chance late with a cross from near the end line, but the pass was just off target a few yards from the goal.
NOTES ON THE GAME
"Hats off to them. They are a very good team. I believe they are ranked third in their conference, and they are absolutely deserving of that ranking. Their high press gave us a lot of problems early on and we were very slow to adapt. I feel basically we gave them a goal. Going into the second half, we made a formation change which really allowed us to build, switch the point of attack and possess the ball a lot more with more frequency than we had in the first half."
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UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season for a Sunday matinee matchup with UNLV. Kickoff is set for noon.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Portland would control the pace throughout the first half, outshooting CSUN 5-0 in the opening stanza. The Pilots' goal though came off a CSUN turnover near midfield in the 13th minute of action. Nedya Sawan intercepted a pass from near the sideline before driving up the field and scoring from the top of the box into the left corner of the net. Portland threatened later in the half with strikes from Sawan and Cally Togiai but CSUN withstood each attempt to go into the half only trailing by the 1-0 margin.
CSUN would flip the script in the second half, this time pressuring the Pilots defense in an attempt to even the game up. The Matadors would have their best look of the night in the 78th minute on a free kick near the top of the box. After a Pilot foul was committed nearly resulting in a penalty kick, CSUN took the free kick with good field positioning but Ashly Torres missed high of the net. Ashley Cruz would later just miss a shot from inside the 18 yard line, which was deflected by the defense. Although not credited with a shot, Daisy Torres created a scoring chance late with a cross from near the end line, but the pass was just off target a few yards from the goal.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- Hayden Mauldin finished with two saves in 90 minutes in goal.
- Portland outshot CSUN 6-2 in the match and held a 3-0 advantage in shots on goal.
- In corner kicks, Portland led 5-0.
- Each side committed nine fouls on the night.
"Hats off to them. They are a very good team. I believe they are ranked third in their conference, and they are absolutely deserving of that ranking. Their high press gave us a lot of problems early on and we were very slow to adapt. I feel basically we gave them a goal. Going into the second half, we made a formation change which really allowed us to build, switch the point of attack and possess the ball a lot more with more frequency than we had in the first half."
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Coach Christine Johnson shares her thoughts on tonight's season opener.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/njmrRFqwQr
— CSUN Women's Soccer (@CSUNWSoccer) August 18, 2023
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season for a Sunday matinee matchup with UNLV. Kickoff is set for noon.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
POR
CSUN
Goals
1
0
Shots
6
2
Shots on Goal
3
0
Saves
0
2
Corners
5
0
Fouls
9
9
Scoring Plays
Nedya Sawan (1)
CSUN turnover on backline, 14 takes up the middle and scores at far left post.
12:57
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F/MF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerMF/D
/ Women's Soccer
F
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