CSUN Visits UC San Diego on Sunday Afternoon

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer returns to the road for a Sunday afternoon match with UC San Diego. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN enters the week unbeaten in Big West play at 2-0-1 to go with a 4-6-2 overall record. The Matadors' three-game start to Big West play is the program's best since the 2015 season when the team began 3-0-1. CSUN has also posted three straight shutouts to kick off conference play for the first time in 21 seasons. Heading into this week's action, CSUN is atop the Big West standings with seven points, just ahead of Cal Poly and UC Irvine at six points each.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors posted back-to-back shutout wins for the first time this season, downing UC Irvine 1-0 and UC Riverside 2-0 at Matador Soccer Field last week.

CSUN recorded its first win over UC Irvine since the 2019 season with its 1-0 triumph last Thursday. Senior Cassidy Imperial-Pham broke the scoreless tie, scoring in the 61st minute and off a rebounded shot. The goal was her first of the season and fourth overall in her career. Meanwhile, CSUN withstood 16 shots from UC Irvine as senior Riley Liebsack notched four saves in earning the clean sheet.

The Matadors would continue with their winning ways with a 2-0 win over UC Riverside last Sunday evening. Junior Paige Califf scored her first career goal in the match just before halftime in the 43rd minute, after a corner kick with assists credited to Cailey Jackson and Yoshi Rubalcava. Later in the 51st minute, Califf assisted sophomore Yasmin Azar on her second goal of the year that put CSUN up two. The Matador defense would be stingy again, holding the Highlanders to just a pair of shots on goal for the game. CSUN outshot UCR 16-11 in the victory.

LIEBSACK SECURES BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS
After notching a pair of shutouts, senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack received her first career Big West Defensive Player of the Week award on Sept. 29. Liebsack would record six saves for the week in CSUN's home wins over UC Irvine and UC Riverside. The Torrance native had four saves against 16 total shots versus UC Irvine and added two more saves against UC Riverside. Liebsack became the first Matador since Hayden Mauldin in 2023 to earn the Big West's weekly defensive honor. She previously earned two Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week awards as a member of UNLV from 2021-22.

TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
CSUN heads into the week with three consecutive shutouts posted to start league play and four over its last six matches. During those last six games, the Matadors have only yielded two goals, while prior to that stretch, CSUN had given up nine over its first six games to start 2025. Overall, CSUN has allowed one goal or fewer in nine total games this season. The Matadors are particularly stingy in the second half, giving up just three total goals on the season. In the Big West, CSUN ranks tied for fourth place in shutouts (5) and fifth in team goals-against-average (0.92).

JACKSON LEADING THE WAY
Senior Cailey Jackson has emerged as the Matadors' breakout scorer this season. She has already tied a career high in goals with four, highlighted by her scoring in three consecutive matches from Aug. 28 to Sept. 4. Jackson is currently tied for fourth place in the Big West in goals along with fourth in shots (33) and tied for fifth place in points (10). With one more goal, Jackson would become the 15th Matador in school history to record 10 career goals.

RILEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
CSUN's goalkeeper RIley Liebsack continues to move her way up the all-time CSUN charts in several defensive categories this season. The Matador netminder is ranked eighth in team history in career shutouts with eight and eighth in minutes played in goal with 2,790. Liebsack is also tied for ninth place in saves (143) and 10th in both wins (9) and matches played in goal (31). On the season, Liebsack has totaled 43 saves and five shutouts, both of which rank second best in the Big West. Nationally, she is also up to 28th place with her five clean sheets.

SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
The Tritons are seeking their first Big West win of the season after opening up 0-2-0 in league play. Last week, UCSD dropped a 2-0 decision to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo while its first conference match was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cal State Bakersfield. As a team, the Tritons are seventh in the Big West in goals-against-average (1.18) and the team has scored the ninth-most goals in the league at nine this season. While the team has been shut out seven times on the year, the Tritons have scored multiple times on three separate occasions and hold four shutouts of their own. Ava Tibor tops the Tritons with four goals and nine points, followed by Natalie Abel at two goals and five points. Goalkeeper Charlotte Wilfert holds a 1.18 GAA with 47 saves and four shutouts in front of the goal.

Series History: The Tritons have won four of five all-time meetings with the Matadors, but CSUN took last season's match by a 3-1 score at Matador Soccer Field. The trio of Cailey Jackson, Kayden Perigo and Yoshi Rubalcava all scored in the second half versus the Tritons as CSUN erased a 1-0 halftime deficit in that win last season. The teams played a high-scoring battle two seasons ago in La Jolla with the Tritons prevailing 5-3.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Visits UC San Diego on Sunday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Yasmin Azar

Paige Califf

Cassidy Imperial-Pham

Cailey Jackson

Riley Liebsack

Hayden Mauldin

Kayden Perigo

Yoshi Rubalcava