Matadors Return Home to Face UC Irvine and UC Riverside

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer returns to Matador Soccer Field for its first two home Big West matches this week. The Matadors host UC Irvine on Thursday before wrapping up the week against UC Riverside. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
The Matadors seek their first win at Matador Soccer Field this season as CSUN has dropped all four of its home matches by a one-goal margin each. CSUN comes in with a 2-6-2 overall record and a 0-0-1 Big West mark after opening conference play last Sunday at Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors play three of their next four games in Northridge, which includes an Oct. 12 home match with Cal State Bakersfield. Next week, CSUN will return to the road for a Sunday afternoon match (Oct. 5) with UC San Diego in La Jolla.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN earned its first point of Big West play after battling to a 0-0 draw at undefeated Cal State Fullerton (7-0-2) last Sunday. The Matadors' defense would shut out the Titans for just the second time this season, snapping Fullerton's seven game win streak in the process. Senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack had five saves while the Titans had a slim 10-8 edge in shots. Seven Matador field players saw the full 90 minutes in the contest while senior Cailey Jackson, one of those seven, had a team-high three shots in the draw.

RILEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack continues to move her way up the all-time CSUN charts in several categories. The CSUN netminder is now eighth in school history with six career shutouts while she has climbed into ninth place on the career minutes list at 2,610. Additonally, Liebsack is 10th in team history in saves (137), wins (7) and matches played in goal (29). On the season, Liebsack has totaled 37 saves, good enough for second in the Big West along with three shutouts, which ranks third in the conference.

TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
Over the past four games, CSUN has allowed just two goals while racking up a pair of shutouts. Prior to that stretch, CSUN had allowed nine goals over its first six contests to start the season. Overall, the Matadors have allowed one goal or fewer in seven total games in 2025, as CSUN is now ranked sixth in the Big West in goals allowed (11) and goals-against-average (1.10). The Matadors have been particularly stingy in giving up second-half goals this season with only three hitting the back of the net, none of which over the past four matches.

JACKSON LEADING THE WAY
Senior Cailey Jackson has emerged as the Matadors' breakout scorer during non-conference play. Jackson has already tied her career high in goals with four, highlighted by her scoring in three consecutive matches from Aug. 28 to Sept. 4. She is currently tied for third place in the Big West in goals along with fourth in shots (31) and tied for sixth place in points (9). With one more goal, Jackson would become the 15th Matador in school history to record 10 career goals as well.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE
The Anteaters come in with a 4-2-4 overall record and 1-0-0 mark in Big West play after knocking off UC Riverside 3-1 last Sunday at home. UC Irvine currently ranks second in the Big West in goals allowed (5) and goals-against-average (0.50) to go with five total shutouts. On the offensive side, UCI is third in goals scored (14) and total points (44) as the team averages 1.40 goals per game. Eight Anteaters have hit the net this season with four scoring multiple goals. Ella Colombini tops the Anteaters with eight points, including a Big West-best six assists, while Mia Colombini and Kori Pickelle have three goals apiece. In goal, Laurynn Ziller sports a 0.57 GAA and 23 saves.

Series History: The Anteaters hold a 13-11-5 edge over the Matadors in the all-time series with wins over four of the last five meetings. Last season, CSUN dropped a 2-1 decision in Irvine while the Matadors played to a 0-0 draw with the Anteaters in the teams' last match played at Matador Soccer Field in 2023. CSUN's last win in the series was a 1-0 win in 2019.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders are 0-8-1 on the season as they dropped matches to LMU, 2-1, and UC Irvine, 3-1, last week. Prior to taking on CSUN, UCR hosts Cal State Fullerton on Thursday. Sarah Mahfoud has one of the two UCR goals scored on the season with the other being an own goal versus LMU. In front of the net, Trinity Hale has seen the most minutes with over 445 while totaling 21 saves and a 2.83 GAA. The team is playing its first season under head coach Mike Dibbini.

Series History: CSUN leads UCR 15-7-2 in the all-time series as the teams have played to draws over the past two seasons. The teams finished at a 2-2 draw in last season's meeting in Riverside. Overall, CSUN is undefeated against UC Riverside over its last nine meetings while the Matadors are 7-0-1 in the last eight meetings at Matador Soccer Field.

#GoMaatdors

Matadors Return Home to Face UC Irvine and UC Riverside

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Players Mentioned

Cailey Jackson

Riley Liebsack