CSUN Opens Big West Play with Home Tests Against UCSD, Fullerton

Wednesday, September 23

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

UC San Diego

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Photo by: Felipe Araneda

CSUN Opens Big West Play with Home Tests Against UCSD, Fullerton

9/22/2026 11:41:00 AM | Women's Soccer

WSOC Game Notes - Sep. 22

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer begins its defense of the Big West championship this week as CSUN hosts its first two conference matches at Matador Soccer Field. The Matadors face UC San Diego on Wednesday in the 2026 conference opener before taking on Cal State Fullerton on Sunday night. Both matches will kickoff at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN wrapped up non-conference play with a 2-4-3 overall record. After starting the year at 1-4, the Matadors went unbeaten over their last four matches, going 1-0-3. Through three matches at home this season, CSUN has gone 1-0-2 to push its unbeaten streak at Matador Soccer Field to nine straight matches, dating back to last season. CSUN will look to continue its success at home against Big West opponents in 2026 after going a perfect 5-0-0 during its run to a regular season conference title in 2025.

LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors' last match took place on Sept. 13 with CSUN rallying for a 2-2 tie on the road at Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds struck first with a sixth-minute goal before the Matadors answered with a goal from Theresa Castro in the 27th minute, set up by Keilani Claiborne and Michelle Monroy. CSUN would fall behind again early in the second half but found the equalizer once more in the 61st minute as Siena Navarra connected with a streaking Yasmin Azar in the front of the net. The Matadors withstood a late barrage from Southern Utah down the stretch including picking up a team save from Navarra in the final moments of the match.

MATADOR SWEEP BIG WEST AWARDS AFTER UNBEATEN WEEK
CSUN swept the Big West's weekly awards on Sept. 14 when junior Yasmin Azar was named Offensive Player of the Week, junior Siena Navarra earned Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Theresa Castro collected Rookie of the Week honors. During that week, CSUN picked up a 4-2 victory at Utah Tech before playing to a 2-2 draw at Southern Utah. Azar had a career week during the road trip, scoring a first career brace in the victory over the Trailblazers before scoring a second-half equalizer against the Thunderbirds. Navarra, who played in all 180 minutes over the two matches, assisted Azar on the game-tying goal versus Southern Utah while she also picked up a key team save late in the contest. Castro was instrumental in the Matadors' tie with Southern Utah as well, hitting an equalizer in the first half for her first career goal. CSUN's sweep of the Big West's awards was the program's first in team history since the conference expanded to a three-award format in 2021.

SCORING PICKING UP
CSUN shook off a slow start on the offensive end to start the season by scoring 10 goals over its last five matches of non-conference play. During that stretch, the Matadors have seen Yasmin Azar net three goals to take over the team lead in scoring while Jordyn Canister, Ariana Lopez-Angel, Siena Navarra, Lia Peterson, Keilani Claiborne and Theresa Castro have also scored at least once for CSUN. The team has also posted 31 points over the past five games after just managing two points over the first four matches of 2026. Overall, CSUN is ranked sixth in the Big West in goals (11) and points (33).

COMEBACK STORIES
Ariana Lopez-Angel has given CSUN an offensive boost this season after she missed most of her freshman season in 2025 with an injury. Lopez-Angel has bounced back to score twice already this season, both of which coming on penalty kicks while she has been used as one of CSUN's free kick specialists. Her two goals this season are tied with Jordyn Canister for second-best on the team and her five points are second-most as well.

Goalkeeper Hayden Mauldin has also been one of CSUN's biggest comeback stories this season. Mauldin is coming off a two-year hiatus from competition as she missed all of 2024 and 2025 with injury. Prior to her time away, Mauldin had been the team's starting goalkeeper from 2022-23. In her return, Mauldin has quickly made her mark on the pitch, leading the Big West and ranking fourth in the nation in saves at 63. Her 7.00 saves per game are also tied for the top mark in the Big West while she has two shutouts on the year.

SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
The Tritons are 4-2-2 on the season after picking up a 2-1 victory over LMU on Sept. 14. UCSD is wrapping up its final season in the Big West before moving over to the WCC next year. The team has only allowed seven goals this season, good enough for second-best in the Big West while the Tritons are third in the conference with a 0.88 goals-against-average. On the scoring side, the quartet of Lana Gilligan, Olivia Shih, Alexis Nguyen and Ava Tibor have scored two goals each for UCSD. In goal, Charlotte Wilfert sports a 0.76 goals-against-average with 30 saves and three shutouts.

Series History: The Tritons lead the Matadors 4-1-1 in the all-time series. The teams played to a scoreless draw in La Jolla last season while CSUN came away with a 3-1 victory two seasons ago at Matador Soccer Field.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans come in with a 3-2-3 overall record and an undefeated streak over their past three matches. Last Sunday, Fullerton played to a 1-1 draw in a home match with Washington State. The Titans are ranked third in the Big West in goals (14), assists (4) and in points (42) this season. Sasha Amezcua has hit the net three times to go with seven points while Camryn Cruz and Mia LaRosa have two goals each. Goalkeeper Allison Craycroft has started seven of eight matches, posting 28 saves and a 2.09 goals-against-average.

Series History: Fullerton holds a 19-8-5 edge in the all-time series with CSUN. Over the last three seasons, the teams have played to draws including a scoreless decision last season in Fullerton. CSUN though is winless over its last seven meetings with Fullerton as the Matadors last collected a victory in 2018.

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