Matadors Take On Spartans, Tigers During Two-Game Road Trip

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Soccer (2-0-2) is set to kick-off a two-game road trip when it takes on the San Jose State Spartans in San Jose Thursday evening at 7:00 pm. Next, CSUN will square off against the Pacific Tigers in Stockton on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN grinded out a 0-0 draw against the Seattle University Redhawks on Thursday night at Matador Soccer Field. The Matadors controlled much of the possession, holding 52 percent of the ball and generating eight shots, but couldn't find the finishing touch against a Seattle defense that played the final 22 minutes with 10 men after a red card to Edgar Leon.

Midfielder Justin Sosa led CSUN with six shots, including a pair of attempts in the closing minutes that pushed the Redhawks' back line but failed to beat goalkeeper Charlie Lanphier, who finished with one save.

CSUN goalkeeper Dorian Drucks came up with four stops to secure his fourth shutout of the year, including key saves in the 73rd and 82nd minutes to preserve the result.

The Matadors remain unbeaten in four games to start the season.

FINDING THE NET TO BEGIN THE YEAR
Zack Harris, Enrique Pineda and Jorge Solorzano have accounted for the Matador goals this year. Harris had the game winner against Oral Roberts on August 24 with 12 minutes left to play to propel CSUN to its first win of the new season.

Pineda, the senior from Sylmar, had an early goal against Biola on August 30. Pineda forced a turnover near the top of the box before slotting a shot into the right corner of the net for his first goal of the season. The goal was unassisted.

In the same match, Solorzano buried a penalty kick after the Eagles were whistled for a foul in the box. The goal doubled the Matadors' lead at the 40 minute mark.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans are 4-1 so far this season with two wins coming against Big West opponents. SJSU opened the season with a win against Cal Poly on August 21, 2-0. Then, most recently, the Spartans defeated Sacramento State on the road September 7, 2-0 as well.

SJSU's best player has to be Arnold Matshazi. Matshazi has delivered in clutch moments, scoring in the Spartans' first two matches of the season, including the game-winner in his second appearance. His buzzer-beater header off a cross with just about seven seconds left secured a spectacular 2–1 road win over Saint Mary's on August 24.

SJSU attempts 13.2 shots per game while scoring 1.6 goals per game.

Series History: CSUN is 6-8-1 all time against the Spartans. The Matadors do have a two-game win streak. The last time these two teams squared off was in August of 2018, where CSUN won 1-0 on the road.

SCOUTING PACIFIC
The Tigers are 1-3 to start the 2025 campaign. Jose Maria Berrera is the best player to return from their 2024 team. He produced seven points in 2024, while midfielder Luca Baltzer was named to the WCC All-Preseason team. Pacific won its lone game at Knoles Field early on in the campaign where the Tigers were victorious against Utah Tech, 2-1 on August 31.

The Tigers have suffered losses against Incarnate Word, Houston Christian and Maryland, going scoreless in all of those defeats. They have scored two goals total so far this season while giving up 10 on the defensive end.

Series History: CSUN is 1-2-1 all time against the Tigers. Both teams fought hard and finished in a scoreless tie last season (9/5/24).
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Matadors Take On Spartans, Tigers During Two-Game Road Trip

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Players Mentioned

Dorian Drucks

Zack Harris

Enrique Pineda

Jorge Solorzano

Justin Sosa