CSUN Falls at UCSB in High Scoring Battle, 4-3

Wednesday, October 23

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

2-8-5, 0-5-2

UC Santa Barbara

10-3-3, 4-1-2

CSUN

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: Connor Clark

CSUN Falls at UCSB in High Scoring Battle, 4-3

10/23/2024 10:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.---CSUN Men's Soccer gave first-place UC Santa Barbara a battle for 90 minutes, tying a season-high in goals, but the Gauchos pulled out a 4-3 victory on Wednesday evening at Harder Stadium. Deryk Jones, Jr. recorded his first career brace while Arturo Reveles scored the Matadors' first goal of the match. CSUN overcame an early two-goal deficit but fell one goal short in the high-scoring match.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out quickly, scoring two goals over the first 12 minutes of play. Alexis Ledoux set up the first tally in the fourth minute when he took the ball from a CSUN defender and drove the ball up the left wing. A cross to the middle found Kaden Standish who headed in a goal for a quick 1-0 lead. The Gauchos continued to pressure the Matador defense leading to another strike in the 12th minute when Standish had his shot saved by Dorian Drucks. Nicolas Willumsen would pick up the loose ball and score for a 2-0 Gaucho lead.

The Matadors though showed little quit throughout the night. Trailing 2-0, CSUN began to work its way back into the match, beginning with a corner kick in the 27th minute. Zack Harris delivered a pass toward the far post where a bounce found Reveles who sent a low shot past goalkeeper David Mitzner.

CHURRO!!!

Zack Harris finds Arturo Reveles to cut the deficit in half!#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/YU7ROvDHAV
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) October 24, 2024

CSUN was not done as a stellar attempt from Jones evened the match up in the 36th minute. Playing the ball on the right side of the field, a pass to the middle was deflected by a UCSB defender right to Jones at the top of the box. Jones picked up the ball off a bounce and bent a right-footed shot inside the far post to square the game at 2-2.

THE EQUALIZER!!!

Deryk Jones scores his third goal of the season off this unreal shot !#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/KhF1lZaaQE
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) October 24, 2024

The score remained tied until the 42nd minute when a costly CSUN foul inside its own box allowed the Gauchos an opportunity to reclaim the lead. Philipp Nemo took the penalty kick and calmly found the back of the net to put UCSB ahead 3-2 just before halftime.

CSUN looked for the equalizer early in the second half as Harris missed high of the net and Marley Edwards had his shot saved by Mitzner. The Gauchos were able to rebound courtesy of Ledoux who scored on a coast-to-coast drive to extend the lead to 4-2.

Once again trailing by two, the Matadors mounted one final rally down the stretch of the match. After a penalty kick was not awarded to the Matadors on a play where Harris drove up the middle of the box and fell to the ground after contact, CSUN cut the deficit in half in the 78th minute. Off a throw in, Harris set up the scoring chance with a cross to the far post where Jones found the net on a header.

Back to within one.

Deryk Jones Jr. with his 2nd of the night after the terrific pass from Zack Harris!#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/NZS9988qJO
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) October 24, 2024

CSUN threatened the UCSB net over the final 10-plus minutes, nearly coming away with the equalizer. In one of the closest calls, Jorge Solorzano fired a left-footed shot above the box, but Mitzner saved the ball with his body. Off the rebound, Theom Samba sent another shot that sailed high. The Gauchos controlled the clock over the final moments to secure the win.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN falls to 2-8-5 overall with a 0-5-2 Big West record while UCSB improves to 10-3-3 with a 4-1-2 league mark.
The Gauchos finished with a 14-13 edge in shots, but CSUN had a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.
UCSB led 4-3 in corner kicks.
A total of 34 fouls were called in the match with CSUN whistled for 22.
With Jones' two goals, he now leads CSUN with four tallies on the season while Reveles registered his second goal of 2024.
Harris is the first Matador this season to record two assists in a match.
The loss eliminated CSUN from contention to the 2024 Big West Championship.

UP NEXT
CSUN plays its final home match of the season on Saturday as the Matadors take on Cal Poly on Senior Night. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call on ESPN+. The Matadors will honor their senior class prior to the match in a ceremony.

#GoMatadors