CSUN Hosts Long Beach State on Senior Night with Eyes Set on Top Seed

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN looks to secure a first-round bye in the Big West Championship when it hosts Long Beach State on Senior Night this Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (7-7-4, 5-1-3 Big West) have already clinched a spot for the six-team Big West Championship, set to kick off on Nov. 2. CSUN is still in play for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye should the Matadors win on Thursday against Long Beach State, coupled with a UC Santa Barbara tie or loss at UC San Diego. Currently, Cal Poly sits in first place in the Big West with 20 points, but the Mustangs have already completed their regular season schedule. UCSB and CSUN are tied for second place at 18 points each, however, the Gauchos hold the tiebreaker with the Matadors. The rest of the tight Big West field includes Cal State Fullerton in fourth place with 17 points, Cal State Bakersfield in fifth place with 16 points and UC Irvine in sixth place with 15 points.

The team that finishes with the No. 1 seed would receive a bye and host the final two rounds of the Big West Championship (Nov. 6 and Nov. 9) while seeds No. 3 and No. 4 host first round games against No. 6 and No. 5, respectively, on Nov. 2.

CSUN RETURNS TO THE POSTSEASON
The Matadors clinched a berth in the Big West Championship for the first time since the 2019 season last week. Overall, CSUN has clinched its 10th all-time appearance in the conference tournament as the Matadors have won the event once in their history in 2012. CSUN's last appearance in the Big West Championship in 2019 included a run to the championship game. The Matadors also hosted the championship game in 2017, tying Cal State Fullerton 1-1 in the final match before going down in a penalty kick shootout.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN went 0-1-1 last week in its trip to the Central Coast. The Matadors dropped a 2-0 decision at UC Santa Barbara last Thursday before earning a point at Cal Poly in a 1-1 draw last Sunday afternoon.

CSUN tasted defeat in Big West play for the first time this season against UCSB. The Gauchos scored in the ninth minute, breaking the Matadors' seven-match shutout streak while UCSB added another goal in the 56th minute. CSUN would hold an 8-3 advantage in shots in the second half but could not find the back of the net.

In Sunday's matchup in Cal Poly, the Matadors struck first in the sixth minute when Cassidy Imperial-Pham set up Paige Califf for a header in front of the goal. CSUN would lead 1-0 until the 78th minute as Cal Poly took advantage of a free kick to even the game up. The Mustangs outshot the Matadors 7-0 in the second half, but the CSUN defense did not fold and preserved the draw.

RECORD-SETTING DEFENSE
CSUN's seven-match shutout streak finally came to end on Oct. 23 at UC Santa Barbara. The seven consecutive clean sheets were the most in a row for a Matador team in team history, surpassing the six straight set by the 2016 team. During the streak, the Matadors kept the opposition scoreless for 15 halves and for a grand total of 699 minutes. In all, CSUN has still only allowed three goals in Big West play, the least of any conference team. The Matadors have also posted nine total shutouts overall on the year, tied for the fifth-most in team history.

SCORING LEADERS
Heading into the final match of the regular season, senior forward Cailey Jackson still leads the Matadors with five goals and 12 points this season, which ranks seventh and eighth in the Big West, respectively. Junior midfielder Paige Califf netted her third goal of the season at Cal Poly to move into a second-place tie on the team in scoring with sophomore Yasmin Azar, who has six points. Califf has recorded eight points and two assists to go with her three goals, all of which are new career highs. Sophomore Jordyn Canister has also scored multiple times this season, netting two strikes to go with five points. In total, eight Matadors have scored goals this season.

RILEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack's exploits in front of the net have moved her up to ninth place in the nation in shutouts with nine. Liebsack's goals-against average of 0.78 is also 46th-best in the country while she is fourth overall in the Big West in the category. Her work this season has also put her into the CSUN all-time top-10 charts as she is ranked fourth in school history in career shutouts (12) along with seventh in saves (167), wins (12), minutes played in goal (3,330) and matches played in goal (37). Liebsack's nine shutouts this season are also fourth-most for a single season in team history.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
The Beach enter Thursday with a 5-7-5 overall record and 2-3-4 Big West mark. Long Beach State is currently seventh place in the Big West at 10 points. As a team, the Beach are sixth in the Big West with 20 total goals scored while they are seventh with a 1.06 goals-against-average. Cherrie Cox tops the Beach with five goals to go with two assists and 12 points while Radisson Banks has four goals and four assists for 12 total points. In all, five of six Beach players have scored multiple times. At goalkeeper, Aurora Schuck has seen every minute on the field, posting 47 saves and five shutouts on the season.

Series History: The Beach lead the Matadors 18-10-3 in the all-time series. CSUN took last year's meeting in Long Beach with a 1-0 victory on a game-winning strike from Yoshi Rubalcava. The win snapped a four-game winless streak. The Matadors have dropped the past three home meetings against the Beach with their last home win coming in the 2019 season.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Hosts Long Beach State on Senior Night with Eyes Set on Top Seed

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Players Mentioned

Yasmin Azar

Paige Califf

Jordyn Canister

Cassidy Imperial-Pham

Cailey Jackson

Riley Liebsack

Yoshi Rubalcava