Matadors End Season with Home Game Against Gauchos

NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- CSUN men's soccer (6-6-5, 1-5-2 Big West) will conclude the 2025 season with a home matchup against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (6-4-7, 4-0-4 Big West) this Saturday at Matador Soccer Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on GoMatadors.com

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN suffered back-to-back losses last week. The first of which was a home game against Cal State Fullerton where CSUN lost 3-0 on Wednesday. The Matadors also fell on Sunday to the Cal Poly Mustangs, 1-0 in their road finale.

In game one of the week on Wednesday, despite generating 22 shots and controlling possession for much of the night, CSUN couldn't find the back of the net in the defeat. The Titans built a two-goal lead in the opening period and never looked back, extending their strong conference form while handing the Matadors their fourth loss in league play.

Ulises Grado of the Titans scored two goals. CSUN keeper Dorian Drucks tallied two saves in 90 minutes. Zack Harris led the Matadors with four shots, including two on target.

The Matadors then hit the road to play their last game away from Northridge against Cal Poly on Sunday. It was an afternoon showdown that saw the shadows become a factor.

Siddiq Lezzar had an incredible save in the 35th minute. Cal Poly lofted a ball into the box, which went over Drucks' head. Lezzar came seemingly out of nowhere to head the ball out of the box and save what would have been a goal for the Mustangs. The match was back and forth with both sides playing tough defense and executing carefully on the offensive end.
Sean McTague provided the difference for the Mustangs, scoring the match's lone goal in the 65th minute with a shot into the bottom left corner.

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 12 scores all season. Opponents are averaging .588 goals a game against CSUN so far in the campaign.

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 17 games. Lezzar leads the team in minutes played with 1,503 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 1,398 minutes, which is third on the team. He has played all 90 minutes in nine 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 15 games and started in 14 of them. Shaked has played every minute in all eight Big West games played. CSUN's "Big Three" have been in the backfield for eight shutouts. The Matadors are ranked 22nd in the nation in shutout percentage at .529.

OUR GOALKEEPER IS AMONG THE BEST
Dorian Drucks continues to be a menace in between the posts for the Matadors. The senior from Essen, Germany is tied for second in CSUN history with eight shutouts in a season. That mark is also good enough for sixth-best among all Division-I schools. His 69 saves lead the Big West, with a save percentage of .852 while he is averaging 4.31 saves per contest.

ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos are 6-4-7 and undefeated in Big West play at 4-0-4. The Gauchos enter Saturday's season finale atop The Big West table, knowing a win will keep them there and guaranteed the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. A win (or draw) would also see them finish unbeaten in Big West play for the first time since 2013.

The Gauchos, like the Matadors, are known for their defense. UCSB has only allowed two goals all season in Big West play, by far the best in the conference. Owen Beninga is UCSB's top goalkeeper, only allowing one goal all season. The last time the Gauchos have allowed a goal was back on Oct.15 when they tied UC San Diego 1-1.

Buba Fofanah is their best scorer, tallying five goals on the campaign. Zac Siebenlist follows him, as he has scored three goals so far this year.

SERIES HISTORY: CSUN is currently trailing UCSB, 27-17-7 in the all-time series. The last win for CSUN came on Oct. 30, 2021 when the Matadors were victorious by a score of 2-0 at Matador Soccer Field.
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Matadors End Season with Home Game Against Gauchos

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Players Mentioned

Dorian Drucks

Zack Harris

Luke Lawrence

Siddiq Lezzar

Jake Shaked