CSUN Gears Up for Road Battle Against No.1 Stanford

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN men's soccer team (2-1-1) is set to take on the top-ranked team in the country, the Stanford Cardinal (5-0-0) on Monday, Aug. 20. Kick-off at Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium is slated for 4:00 p.m. as CSUN plays its first road game since August 20. The game will be streamed live on the ACC+ network.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN battled the Houston Christian Huskies to a 2-2 draw Friday night at Matador Soccer Field. Francisco Garibay scored his first career goal in the 42nd minute while Tito Oyewo notched his second goal of the season in the 79th minute.

The Matadors controlled much of the match, finishing with a 16-8 advantage in shots and holding 67% of possession.

CSUN was down 1-0 early by the 31st minute, however, Houston Christian had the lead for just 11 minutes, as the Matadors revved up the offense and created opportunities in the box. Michael Blevins played a touch pass from the left side to Garibay at the top of the box, and the sophomore from Oxnard fired a shot from 18 yards into the net to level the match at 1-1. The score would remain that way heading into intermission.

In the second half, CSUN once again made the Huskies work, as the Matadors controlled the attack, looking for the right moment to strike. That moment came in the 79th minute. Off a throw-in, Messiah Antwi found Oyewo, who saw an opening and headed the ball into the back of the net to give the Matadors their first lead of the night, 2-1. The lead, however, was short lived. Houston Christian was awarded a penalty kick moments later, and Niven converted to tie the match at two apiece.

PUTTING THE BALL IN THE BACK OF THE NET
In four games, the Matadors have netted nine goals, a six goal difference from their four game start in 2025. CSUN is 40th in the nation in goal differential, as it has scored nine goals while giving up only five on the defensive end.

Kayvon Monfared has been the team leader in goals. He has three on the season, including a brace in his home Matadors debut against The Master's University on August 27. It was the first time a Matador has registered two goals in one night since Deryk Jones Jr. scored two at UCSB on Oct. 23, 2024.

Messiah Antwi, Michael Blevins, Fransisco Garibay and Tito Oyewo have also tallied goals for CSUN as well.

CSUN is also creating scoring opportunities. The Matadors have registered 64 shots and 22 shots on goal so far this season.

DORIAN IS THE STAR GOALKEEPER
Dorian Drucks continues to be a menace in between the posts for the Matadors. The senior from Essen, Germany is tied second in CSUN single-season history with eight shutouts in 2025. That mark is also good enough for sixth best among all Division-I schools. His 69 saves led the Big West, with a save percentage of .852. He averaged 4.31 saves per contest in 2025.

He also has one shutout already on the season, as he helped secure the 1-0 win against ORU on Sunday, September 30. He was one-of-11 placed on the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team, announced on August 13.

ABOUT STANFORD
The Stanford Cardinal enters Monday's matchup with CSUN ranked No. 1 nationally and sporting a 5-0 record through the opening weeks of the 2026 season. The Cardinal have opened the year with five consecutive victories, including wins over Grand Canyon, Denver, No. 2 San Diego, UC Davis and San Jose State.

Stanford has outscored its opponents 9-3 through its first five regular-season matches, with three of its victories coming by a single goal. The Cardinal's most notable result came Aug. 27, when they defeated then-No. 2 San Diego, 1-0, on a goal in the 89th minute. Stanford then rallied from an early deficit to defeat UC Davis, 2-1, on Aug. 30 before earning a 1-0 victory at San Jose State on Sept. 4.

Jeremy Gunn is the head coach for Stanford. He is one of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, Gunn has led Stanford to the College Cup final four times since 2015. He and Virginia's Bruce Arena (1991-94) are the only coaches to win three consecutive NCAA men's soccer championships. He owns a career record of 363-117-85 (.718) in 28 seasons, a mark which ranks him seventh among active D-I head coaches by win percentage. Gunn's 363 victories rank 10th among active D-I head coaches by win total.

SERIES HISTORY: CSUN is 2-3 all time against the Cardinal. This is the first time these two teams have met since 2013.

CSUN Gears Up for Road Battle Against No.1 Stanford

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Messiah Antwi

Michael Blevins

Dorian Drucks

Francisco Garibay

Kayvon Monfared

Tito Oyewo

California State University Northridge Athletics