CSUN Hits the Road for Matches at LBSU and CSUB

Wednesday, September 30

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Long Beach State

Photo by: Josue Herrera

CSUN Hits the Road for Matches at LBSU and CSUB

9/29/2026 1:13:00 PM | Women's Soccer

WSOC Game Notes - Sep. 29

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Women's Soccer takes to the road this week for the first time in Big West play as the Matadors visit Long Beach State on Wednesday and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. Both matches will kickoff at 7 p.m. while Wednesday's contest with the Beach will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (2-5-4, 0-1-1) began Big West action last week at home, coming away with a point over two close matches. CSUN now turns its attention to a three-game road swing over the next two weeks. After facing the Beach and the Roadrunners this week, the Matadors will be tested once more next week when they face UC Irvine on Oct. 10. Thus far this season, CSUN is 1-4-1 on the road, but in its last road trip earlier in September, the Matadors scored six goals across two matches as they picked up a 4-2 victory over Utah Tech and earned a 2-2 draw with Southern Utah.

CSUN returns to Matador Soccer Field on Oct. 14 when it hosts defending Big West tournament champions Cal Poly followed by another home matchup with California Baptist three days later on Oct. 17.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
Big West play opened last week with CSUN going 0-1-1 to kick off the 11-game conference season. The Matadors dropped a tight 1-0 decision to visiting UC San Diego last Wednesday before earning their first point of Big West play in a 3-3 draw with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.

In the Big West opener, the Tritons broke a scoreless tie in the 80th minute. The Matadors were outshot 16-7 in the match while UCSD held a light 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Hayden Mauldin posted four saves in goal for CSUN.

In a back-and-forth match, CSUN rallied from two different deficits against Cal State Fullerton to eventually play to a draw. The Matadors would take a 1-0 lead on a 30th-minute Keilani Claiborne goal, assisted by Michelle Monroy, but the Titans scored twice late in the first half to go ahead 2-1. Lia Peterson hit the equalizer in the 56th minute, capitalizing on passes from Jordyn Canister and Ariana Lopez-Angel, however, Fullerton once again stormed in front in the 73rd minute. In the final minutes of the match, CSUN found the game-tying goal after a clock restart, as Sydney Lipkin and Yasmin Azar set up Jana Akins for her first career goal.

SCORING PICKING UP
The Matadors once again scored multiple times in their draw with Cal State Fullerton last Saturday. CSUN has scored two or more goals in four of its last five matches. Overall, the Matadors have scored multiple goals in five total matches this season, including three or more times in two matches. Prior to posting two goals on Aug. 30 at New Mexico, CSUN had scored just once over its first four matches to begin the season. As a group, the Matadors are ranked fifth in points (44), fifth in assists (16), and sixth in goals (14) in the Big West.

Yasmin Azar remains the team leader in goals with three this season, as she is ranked eighth in the Big West this season. Her nine points are also eighth-best in the conference while she is tied with Michelle Monroy for ninth place on the assist list. Behind Azar, the quartet of Lia Peterson, Keilani Claiborne, Ariana Lopez-Angel and Jordyn Canister have scored two goals apiece.

MAULDIN'S COMEBACK STORY
Goalkeeper Hayden Mauldin has been one of CSUN's biggest comeback stories this season. Coming off a two-year hiatus from competition, Mauldin has returned to the field in 2026 and reclaimed her starting role at goalkeeper. Prior to missing all of 2024 and 2025 with injury, Mauldin had been the Matadors' starting 'keeper in her first two seasons with the team from 2022-23. Thus far, Mauldin has moved up to second in the nation with 73 saves already this season while she is ranked second in the Big West in saves per game at 6.64.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
The Beach are 6-1-4 after earning draws with UC Santa Barbara (2-2) and Cal Poly (1-1) last week. Long Beach State is 3-1-1 at George Allen Field on the season with its only loss of the season coming to Utah by a 5-1 score. The Beach's Cherrie Cox leads the Big West in nearly every offensive category as she is ranked third in the nation in goals (12) and fourth in points (26). As a team, the Beach are second in the Big West with 21 total goals scored. Defensively, LBSU has allowed just 10 goals to rank fourth in the conference. In net, Aurora Schuck sports a 1.06 goals-against-average with four shutouts and 32 saves.

Series History: The Beach hold an 18-11-3 overall record with the Matadors, but CSUN has picked up wins in each of the past two seasons. In 2025, the Matadors came from behind to notch a 2-1 victory at home while they earned a 1-0 decision at Long Beach State two seasons ago.

SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
The 'Runners are 1-9-1 on the season while holding a 0-2 mark in Big West play. CSUB dropped matches last week at Utah Valley (7-1) and UC Irvine (2-0). The team has played just three home matches on the year, sporting a 1-2 record with its win coming against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by a 2-1 score. As a team, Bakersfield has scored five total goals with CJ Walters scored two of those to lead the team. On the flip side, the team has allowed 25 total goals. In goal, Addyson Evens has recorded 65 saves with a 2.12 GAA this season.

Series History: CSUN leads Bakersfield 8-3-1 in the all-time series with victories in each of the last three seasons. The Matadors shut out the Roadrunners last season in Northridge by a 1-0 decision while CSUN also secured a 2-1 victory in its last trip to Bakersfield in 2024.

#GoMatadors