By Staff Reporter Michael Harrington (aka the homer, Dodger fan)

The Matadors face a tough road swing this weekend, heading to Loyola Marymount on Friday and then to USC on Sunday to take on the defending National Champion Trojans. The Trojans are currently allowing less than one goal per game, which may prove to be a struggle for the Northridge offense, which hasn’t been playing up to standards as of late. It’s the fourth Pac 10 team that the Matadors will face this season, and they are 0-3 so far. Things aren’t looking good, and I think this will definitely be their toughest match yet.

However, they will be back at full strength. Captain Nalena Betancourt will be back in the lineup on Friday after missing last Sunday’s contest due to picking up a red card in the previous match. She was shown the red card after punching an Arizona player. The Matadors will need that type of fight in them this weekend. Maybe not to that extreme, though.

The Matadors may also be hoping that the officiating is up to standards as well. The coaching staff (and players) made it no secret that they didn’t like many of the calls (and non-calls) in Sunday’s tie against San Francisco. The Dons sideline was also very vocal in letting the officials know that they didn’t like how the game was being called. The head referee had to tell each sideline to “settle down.” I have to say hat I agreed with the teams. The play was very physical and there was not nearly enough whistles blown. Players were getting knocked over left and right.