Late Heroics From Pineda Excel CSUN Past UC Riverside for First Big West Win

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Enrique Pineda scored in the 86th minute on a pass from Zion Wagoner to lift CSUN past UC Riverside 1-0 in the first Big West match of the season Wednesday night at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium.

Pineda, who entered the match just seconds earlier, buried a low shot to the right side off a pass from Wagoner to give the Matadors the late advantage after a scoreless 85 minutes.

Goalkeeper Dorian Drucks made five saves to preserve the shutout. The Matadors leaned on his steady play in net as UC Riverside generated several dangerous chances, particularly in both halves. Drucks is now tied second in the nation with seven shutouts on the season. He has only allowed three goals all year.

The match featured quality scoring opportunities for both sides. In the first half, Justin Sosa nearly put the Matadors ahead when his strike from distance rattled off the crossbar in the eighth minute. Axel Agurcia later tested Riverside goalkeeper Andrew Hermosillo with a low shot in the 44th, but Hermosillo smothered the attempt to keep the match scoreless at halftime.

UC Riverside pressed early, forcing Drucks into back-to-back saves in the 20th minute. Tarek Hamideh fired a low shot toward the center of the goal before teammate Eric Martinez forced another save just seconds later.

The Matadors continued to press in the second half. Seydou Diop fired high in the 46th minute, while Wagoner set up Daniel Garcia for a close-range shot in the 50th that Hermosillo managed to smother. Sosa and Jorge Solorzano each had looks that narrowly missed the target as CSUN controlled stretches of possession.

Edward Castro of the Highlanders threatened with a shot that sailed high but forced Drucks to react in the 85th, moments before Pineda's winner.

In total, the Matadors outshot the Highlanders 15-14 and held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. Both sides picked up a pair of yellow cards in a physical contest that featured 19 combined fouls.

GAME NOTES

CSUN now moves to 6-1-3 on the season and 1-0 in Big West play.
The Matadors won at UC Riverside for the first time since October 2016, where CSUN claimed the victory, 1-0 in overtime.
Drucks' seven shutouts are the most by a Matador goalkeeper since 2022. However, it took GK Cooper Wenzel 19 games, while Drucks did it in nine games.
Pineda now has two goals on the season, tying Jorge Solorzano for most on the team.
Wagoner notches his third assist of his Matador career and first of 2025.
Garcia and Agurcia accounted for the other two shots on goal
Jake Shaked, Siddiq Lezzar, Harris and Drucks played the full 90 minutes.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH TERRY DAVILA
"Anytime you can get three points in the Big West is huge, and to do it at UCR, that's rare. Massive credit to Kike [Enrique Pineda] for that clutch finish late in the game. We're proud of him and happy for him. On to the next one, let's keep it rolling."

UP NEXT
CSUN hosts its first Big West home match of the season when the Matadors take on the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Matador Soccer Field.

Late Heroics From Pineda Excel CSUN Past UC Riverside for First Big West Win

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Team Stats

Enrique Pineda

Zion Wagoner

Justin Sosa

Seydou Diop

Players Mentioned

Axel Agurcia

Dorian Drucks

Daniel Garcia

Siddiq Lezzar

Enrique Pineda

Jake Shaked

Jorge Solorzano

Justin Sosa

Zion Wagoner