Thursday, August 22
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
0-0-1, 0-0-0
0
vs
0
#18 James Madison
0-0-1, 0-0-0
1
2
F
James Madison
0
0
0
CSUN
0
0
0
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Earns Scoreless Draw with #18 James Madison to Open Season
8/22/2024 9:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Soccer earned a hard-fought scoreless draw with No. 18 James Madison in the 2024 season opener on Thursday evening at Matador Soccer Field. Sophomore Merrick Cook collected three saves for his first shutout of the year.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
James Madison went on the attack in the early going, earning three corner kicks in the first five minutes of play. The Matadors though withstood the offensive barrage and would not allow a shot until the 13th minute of play. From there, CSUN turned the tables and became the aggressors. Siddiq Lezzar put a shot on frame in the 15th minute followed by missed shots from Arturo Reveles, Deryk Jones, Jr. and Zack Harris.
Defense was the story throughout the match and neither side could break through in the scoring column. Cook made a pair of saves late in the first half including stuffing a shot from Milo Wray inside the box before pouncing on the loose ball to prevent any more scoring chances.
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The second half would be a physical one with seven cards issued to players from the two teams. Shortly after Enrique Pineda nearly found the net on a header, James Madison's Evan Southern was whistled for a second yellow card, forcing the Dukes to play a man down for the final 28-plus minutes. Marley Edwards produced another near scoring chance on a laser from the top of the box that went high in the 65th minute. The Matadors held the Dukes to just two shots while playing with the man advantage as James Madison picked up a late shot from Enrique Barelles that was just wide left.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH TERRY DAVILA
"Anytime you play team with the rich history of James Madison, who was a Sweet Sixteen team, they're going to be battled tested and know how to play in big games. They played LMU in a Sweet Sixteen game last year, and they're not afraid to go on the road and put their style on people. We knew we had to be a little bit better than we were last year being with the ball, but our offensive third quality wasn't at the level that allowed us to win the game. That comes last, we have to keep getting better and pushing at it, but as far as the structure of the team and the principles of play that we want, the kids are starting to buy in. I'm happy with that."
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POST GAME COMMENTS FROM MERRICK COOK
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UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season to face No. 11 LMU on Sunday at 4 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
James Madison went on the attack in the early going, earning three corner kicks in the first five minutes of play. The Matadors though withstood the offensive barrage and would not allow a shot until the 13th minute of play. From there, CSUN turned the tables and became the aggressors. Siddiq Lezzar put a shot on frame in the 15th minute followed by missed shots from Arturo Reveles, Deryk Jones, Jr. and Zack Harris.
Defense was the story throughout the match and neither side could break through in the scoring column. Cook made a pair of saves late in the first half including stuffing a shot from Milo Wray inside the box before pouncing on the loose ball to prevent any more scoring chances.
Â
Merrick Cook comes up huge (twice) to keep it scoreless. ??#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/bPyqFxXQGF
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) August 23, 2024
The second half would be a physical one with seven cards issued to players from the two teams. Shortly after Enrique Pineda nearly found the net on a header, James Madison's Evan Southern was whistled for a second yellow card, forcing the Dukes to play a man down for the final 28-plus minutes. Marley Edwards produced another near scoring chance on a laser from the top of the box that went high in the 65th minute. The Matadors held the Dukes to just two shots while playing with the man advantage as James Madison picked up a late shot from Enrique Barelles that was just wide left.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN outshot James Madison 9-7 in the match while the Dukes led in shots on goal, 3-2.
- The Dukes held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.
- A total of 10 cards were issued in the game with CSUN whistled for six of them.
- Pineda led CSUN with two shots with one on goal.
- Both making their Matador debuts, juniors Jake Shaked and Siddiq Lezzar played the full 90 minutes on defense. David Garcia, Eyifehn Forfor, Ian Boras, Finn Werner and Boniface Fatohou also made their first appearance with CSUN in the match.
ACCORDING TO COACH TERRY DAVILA
"Anytime you play team with the rich history of James Madison, who was a Sweet Sixteen team, they're going to be battled tested and know how to play in big games. They played LMU in a Sweet Sixteen game last year, and they're not afraid to go on the road and put their style on people. We knew we had to be a little bit better than we were last year being with the ball, but our offensive third quality wasn't at the level that allowed us to win the game. That comes last, we have to keep getting better and pushing at it, but as far as the structure of the team and the principles of play that we want, the kids are starting to buy in. I'm happy with that."
Â
CSUN head coach Terry Davila on tonight's season-opening draw with James Madison.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/mhLTRRkV4u
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) August 23, 2024
POST GAME COMMENTS FROM MERRICK COOK
Â
Sophomore GK Merrick Cook on CSUN's shutout to open the 2024 season.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/fJlMzSzgVM
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) August 23, 2024
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for the first time this season to face No. 11 LMU on Sunday at 4 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
JMU
CSUN
Goals
0
0
Shots
7
9
Shots on Goal
3
2
Saves
2
3
Corners
9
3
Fouls
13
10
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF/F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
MF
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