CSUN Faces Road Tests at UCSB and Cal Poly

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer looks to punch its ticket to the postseason this week when it travels to the Central Coast for two big road matchups. The Matadors visit UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at 7 p.m. before taking on Cal Poly on Sunday at noon. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN (7-6-3, 5-0-2 Big West) is currently sitting in first place in the Big West standings at 17 points with Cal Poly a close second at 16 points. Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield are each tied for third place with 13 points followed by UC Santa Barbara in sixth place at 12 points. Just outside the top six, Long Beach State is at nine points and UC San Diego is at eight points. The top six seeds will advance to the Big West Championship, beginning next weekend, while the top two seeds earn a first-round bye to the semifinal round. CSUN has not made the postseason since finishing as Big West runners-up at the 2019 tournament.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN kept its unbeaten streak alive in Big West play with two wins last week. The Matadors knocked off Hawai'i 2-0 on the road on Thursday before making the long trip back to Northridge to beat UC Davis 1-0 on Sunday.

Against Hawai'i, sophomore Siena Navarra scored her first career goal in the sixth minute while junior Paige Califf scored a penalty kick in the 18th minute to give the Matadors the early lead. The CSUN defense would go on to post a sixth straight shutout, withstanding 11 corner kicks and 12 shots. The win over Hawai'i was CSUN's first since 2021.

The Matador defense went on to record a seventh straight shutout against UC Davis, holding the Aggies to nine shots. Sophomore Yasmin Azar netted the game's only goal in the 30th minute, via a pass from freshman Ariah Velazquez. The goal was Azar's third on the season, putting her into second place on the team. The seventh consecutive shutout set a new school record for the Matadors.

RECORD-SETTING DEFENSE
CSUN's stifling defense has been key to its success this season. Posting seven consecutive shutouts to open Big West play, the Matadors surpassed the program record of six straight clean sheets set by the 2016 team. Overall, CSUN has posted nine shutouts on the year, tied for fifth in team history. Senior Riley Liebsack has anchored the CSUN defense, posting 61 saves with a .847 save percentage and a 0.69 goals-against-average. On the backline, freshman Alex Valente has played the second-most minutes on the team (1,427) and seen every minute of Big West play. Sophomore Siena Navarra has started all 16 matches in her first year with CSUN, posting three points in nearly 1,400 minutes while sophomore Sydney Lipkin has played the third-most minutes (1,416) with four shots and redshirt freshman Michelle Monroy has started 13 of 15 matches with one point. Junior midfielder Paige Califf has also been vital part of CSUN's play on the both sides of the ball, totaling two goals and six points in 15 starts.

LIEBSACK EARNS THIRD BIG WEST DEFENSIVE HONOR
With her two shutouts last week, senior Riley Liebsack earned her third Big West Defensive Player of the Week award, tying the Matador record for a single season set by Cynthia Jacobo in 2012. Liebsack had seven saves for the week, both CSUN wins against Hawai'i (2-0) and UC Davis (1-0). The CSUN netminder has not allowed goals over the team's first seven conference matches. Her work on the defensive side has moved her into a first-place tie in the Big West and fifth overall in the nation with nine shutouts.

JACKSON LEADING THE WAY
Senior Cailey Jackson returned back to the scoring column in CSUN's 1-0 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 12. The goal was her first game winner of the season and third overall as a Matador. Jackson has scored a career-high five goals this season to go with 12 points, which ranks fifth and ninth in the Big West, respectively. Her 50 shots taken also rank third-best in the conference. She became the 15th Matador in school history this season to reach 10 career goals while she is two goals away from cracking the school's all-time top-10 scoring list.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos are holding onto the sixth spot in the Big West standings but just one point back of the third spot in the tight Big West standings. UCSB comes in with a 10-3-4 overall record and 3-1-3 Big West mark. Last week, UCSB fell at UC Irvine 2-0 before playing to a 1-1 draw at Long Beach State. Olivia Howard tops the Gauchos with five goals and 10 points followed by Hayden Halscheid with four goals and nine points. A total of 12 Gauchos have goals this season with five scoring multiple times. Goalkeeper Maddie Buckley has racked up 50 saves and six shutouts to go with a 0.69 goals-against-average.

Series History: The Gauchos lead the Matadors 19-11-2 in the all-time series. CSUN is winless over its last four meetings with UCSB as the teams played to a scoreless draw last season. CSUN's last win in the series was in a Big West semifinal match in 2019 by a 1-0 score while the Matadors' last win in Santa Barbara took place in 2016.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs hold a 7-2-8 overall record with a 5-2-1 conference record as Cal Poly is just one point back of CSUN for first place in the Big West. Last week, Cal Poly defeated Long Beach State 1-0 and UC Irvine 2-1, both of which on the road. The tandem of Jessie Halladay and Annika Smith lead the Big West with seven goals apiece this season while Madelyn Dougherty has five goals and seven assists for 17 points. As a team, Cal Poly paces the Big West with 27 total goals. In goal, Shannon Porubski sports a 0.92 GAA with 35 saves and six shutouts on the season.

Series History: The Mustangs hold a 12-9-3 edge in the series. Cal Poly has won the past four meetings, holding CSUN scoreless in each contest. The Matadors' last win in the series was a 2019 home meeting by a 2-0 score while their last win in San Luis Obispo came in 2016.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Faces Road Tests at UCSB and Cal Poly

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Players Mentioned

Yasmin Azar

Paige Califf

Cailey Jackson

Riley Liebsack

Sydney Lipkin

Michelle Monroy

Siena Navarra

Alex Valente

Ariah Velazquez