CSUN Falls Just Short in 1-0 Defeat at Portland

PORTLAND, Ore.---CSUN Women's Soccer could not find the equalizer in the second half as a 38th minute goal held up for Portland in a 1-0 decision on Sunday afternoon at Merlo Field. Senior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack provided five saves while the CSUN defense withstood 14 shots in the match with just the one goal allowed.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN was aggressive early, leading to several scoring chances out of the gate. Off the kickoff, CSUN picked up an attack seconds into the match from Jordyn Canister who delivered a shot to the left corner of the goal where Sophia Hills was forced make a diving save. The Matadors nearly came away with a goal as well in the 13th minute when Michelle Monroy sent a cross from the corner to the middle of the box. Keilani Claiborne was open in front of the goal but missed high. Despite the barrage from CSUN in the early going, Portland came away with the game's first goal late in the period. In the 38th minute, Mao Ito serviced the ball toward the far left post to Hailey Still for a header. With possession up for grabs, Still headed the ball a second time toward the goal where Liebsack got a hand on the ball. However, the header was strong enough to get through Liebsack passed the goal line.

After intermission, CSUN faced a pair of corner kicks as well as a strong shot attempt from Hailey Bagby that struck the left crossbar. Liebsack would see 10 shot attempts from the Pilots and manage to rack up four saves to help keep CSUN close. In one of the closest calls of the second half, Portland earned a free kick just a few yards above the box. On the kick, Still got ahead of her defenders and headed the ball to the goal, but Liebsack made a diving stop to her left. Over the final 15-plus minutes, CSUN pressured the Portland defense, leading to shots from Cailey Jackson and Yoshi Rubalcava along with a corner kick, however, the Matadors could not find the equalizer. Despite taking the ball toward the top of the box in the 90th minute, the Matadors were unable to generate a last second shot.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN drops to 2-5-1 while Portland improves to 2-2-2 this season.
The Pilots finished with a 14-8 edge in shots including leading 6-3 in shots on goal.
Portland had five of the seven corner kicks.
It would be a physical match with 32 fouls called as Portland had 17 and CSUN had 15.
The Matadors' Alena Ramirez and Siena Navarra were each shown yellow cards.
Defenders Paige Califf, Monroy and Navarra each played 90 minutes.
Canister and Claiborne posted two shots each for CSUN.

ACCORDING TO COACH GINA BREWER
"The second game on the weekend is always the toughest mentally and physically. The team definitely battled, but we still felt like we didn't put together the full 90-minute performance that we needed. We will prepare and get ready to go again next Thursday against Sac. State."

UP NEXT
CSUN will wrap up non-conference play with a home tilt against Sacramento State on Thursday, Sept. 11. Ghizal Hasan will have the call at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors

CSUN Falls Just Short in 1-0 Defeat at Portland

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Team Stats

Keilani Claiborne

Jordyn Canister

Cailey Jackson

Siena Navarra

Players Mentioned

Paige Califf

Jordyn Canister

Keilani Claiborne

Cailey Jackson

Riley Liebsack

Michelle Monroy

Siena Navarra

Alena Ramirez

Yoshi Rubalcava