Matadors Set for Big West Midweek Showdown Against Fullerton

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- CSUN men's soccer (6-4-5, 1-3-2 Big West) is set to take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans (7-4-5, 4-1-1 Big West) at Matador Soccer Field on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on GoMatadors.com

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN men's soccer created the better chances but was held scoreless in a 0-0 draw against UC San Diego on Saturday night at Matador Soccer Field.

The Matadors outshot the Tritons 15-13 and held a 57% possession edge but couldn't break through against goalkeeper Nic Thiele, who finished with six saves. CSUN keeper Dorian Drucks made four stops to secure his eighth shutout of the season. Drucks is now tied at second-most shutouts in school history for a season with Michael Abalos who also had eight in 2012.

Zack Harris, Justin Sosa and Miles Johnson were among the Matadors' most active attackers, each putting shots on target. Sosa forced Thiele into diving saves in the 16th and 56th minutes, while Johnson's late efforts in the 87th minute were stopped and blocked in succession. Seydou Diop also had a pair of close looks in the final 10 minutes but sent both attempts just over the bar.

DEFENSIVE FOUNDATIONS
The defense for the Matadors so far has been CSUN's calling card in 2025. The Matadors rank first in the Big West in goals against, only allowing eight scores all season. Opponents are averaging .553 goals a game against CSUN so far in the campaign.

Siddiq Lezzar, Luke Lawrence and Jake Shaked have been pillars on the defensive backline for the Matadors. Lezzar and Lawrence have started and played in all 15 games. Lezzar leads the team in minutes played with 1,323 minutes tallied. The senior from Houston, Texas is a big reason why opposing offenses struggle to find a rhythm

Lawrence, the senior from Scottsdale, Ariz., has been on the defensive side of the ball in 1,258 minutes, which is third on the team. He has played all 90 minutes in seven games for CSUN.

Shaked, the senior from Western Australia, was halted by injury in the first two games of the year, but since then he has played in 13 games and started in 12 of them. Shaked has played every minute in all six Big West games played.

CSUN's "Big Three" have been in the backfield for eight shutouts. The Matadors are ranked ninth in the nation in shutout percentage.

ALL ABOUT THE STANDINGS
The Matadors are currently 1-3-2 in Big West play as they have tallied five points on the season. CSUN is currently tied for seventh, but is more importantly just three point behind UC Davis (8 pts) for the final spot in the Big West Men's Soccer Championship.

The 2025 Big West Men's Soccer Championship will feature the top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season. No. 1 and No. 2 will receive a bye into the semifinal round, with the No. 3 seed hosting No. 6 and the No. 4 seed hosting No. 5 in the opening round of play on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Including Wednesday's match against Fullerton, the Matadors' three remaining games come against teams who already hold a playoff spot. This makes Saturday's game against the Tritons that much more important.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
Fullerton has gone 4-0-1 in its last five games. The Titans last loss came on October 1 against UC Santa Barbara at home. They lead the Big West in total scored goals at 28, as well as points at 77. They are however, near the bottom of the conference (eighth) in goals allowed at 28.

Mario Carlos, their leading goal scorer, also leads the Big West in goals with seven. Carlos holds the top spot in the conference in shots on goal as well 18. Fullerton's second leading goal scorer is Jose De La Torre. He has four goals in 16 matches played while he leads the Big West in total shots with 52.

Fullerton has three goal scorers that are top five in the conference. Third on that list besides Carlos and De La Torre is Fernando Valenzuela who has four goals on the year.

SERIES HISTORY:
CSUN is 26-19-8 all-time against Cal State Fullerton. The last win for the Matadors came on Oct. 29, 2022 where CSUN won 1-0 on the road. At home in its history, CSUN is 14-9-3 all-time.

Matadors Set for Big West Midweek Showdown Against Fullerton

Players Mentioned

Dorian Drucks

Zack Harris

Miles Johnson

Luke Lawrence

Siddiq Lezzar

Jake Shaked

Justin Sosa

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