CSUN Ties With Bakersfield, 2-2 in First Big West Contest of 2026

Wednesday, September 30

Northridge, Calif

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

3-4-2, 0-0-1

Cal State Bakersfield

3-2-3, 0-0-1

Team	1	2	Final F
CSU Bakersfield	2	0	2
CSUN	1	1	2

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Ties With Bakersfield, 2-2 in First Big West Contest of 2026

9/30/2026 11:29:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN men's soccer team (3-4-2, 0-0-1 Big West) battled back from a pair of one-goal deficits Wednesday night, earning a 2-2 draw against the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners at Matador Soccer Field. Enrique Pineda and Damien Baltierra scored goals for the Matadors.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN fell behind early thanks to a penalty kick. In the 14th minute, a foul by Dominick Wicks in the box led CSU Bakersfield's Filip Arras to convert the 12-yarder past the diving Bryan Castaneda, who was making his first start of the season to make it 1-0 in favor of the Roadrunners. The game went back-and-forth for the next 20 minutes, with no team claiming an advantage.

CSUN responded with increased pressure as the first half progressed. Pineda, who subbed into the match, netted an equalizer in the 34th minute. He headed home a cross from Miles Johnson who was fed by Francisco Garibay to level the match at 1-1.

CSUN looked to keep it tied heading into the break, but the Roadrunners had other plans. In the 43rd minute, Charlie Cazares scored off a free-kick play, receiving a touch from Arras before sending a shot from nearly 30 yards just inside the right post. Cal State Bakersfield carried a 2-1 advantage into halftime. Both teams battled in a very physical second half. There would end up being 35 fouls between the two teams in the game.

The Matadors fought and would end up scoring their second equalizer in the game in the 68th minute. Kayvon Monfared and Damien Baltierra combined on a give-and-go that allowed Baltierra to create space on the right side of the penalty area. Baltierra finished the opportunity from the right side of the 18-yard box, bringing the Matadors back level at 2-2 as the Matador faithful roared.

The Matadors had opportunities to take the lead late in the match. CSUN earned corner kicks in the 75th minute and continued to pressure the Roadrunners, while goalkeeper Bryan Castaneda came up with several saves to keep the match tied. Castaneda finished with four saves, including stops on Bakersfield chances in the final 15 minutes.

The Roadrunners finished with 12 shots, six of which were on target, while CSUN recorded four shots with three on goal.

There were eight yellow cards in the second half alone as the game was fought till the very end, however a tie would end up being the result.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN earns a tie in the first Big West game of the season as its record is now 3-4-2.
20 different Matadors saw action on the field in the game.
Daniel Garcia, Tito Oyewo and Messiah Antwi all played the full 90 minutes.
There were 11 total corner kicks in the game.
Pineda and Baltierra each scored their second goal of the season.
Baltierra led the team in bench minutes with 46.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH TERRY DAVILA
On Damien Baltierra's game-tying goal:
"If Damien gets fit, he can be one of the better players in this league. He's a very talented player, and he can make more plays for us. He just needs to get a little bit more physically fit. With him coming off the bench, it can be a challenging role. If he can continue to make more plays for us, he really could end up being a special player."

On the team's resilience:
"You give up a penalty kick and you come back. Then you give them a set-piece goal, and you come back. It says a lot about your character, and it says a lot about what we're trying to do. I'm very disappointed with the goals that we gave up, but I'm very happy with the way we came back. We haven't played in 10 days, so we're a little rusty. Hopefully, that got us back in the flow and got us back going for the next one."

UP NEXT
CSUN will round out its four game homestand with a contest against San Diego State on Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff at Matador Soccer Field will be at 7:00 p.m. Fans can follow live stats on GoMatadors.com.