When the final whistle blew at Matador Stadium on Thursday night, the CSUN men’s soccer team claimed a difficult 2-1 win over Big West rivals, the UC Davis Aggies.

The returning Matador players had extra motivation for the game. It was a chance to avenge their first round tournament loss to the Aggies last season.

For the entire 90 minutes the game lived up to a bitter rivalry game. It was a difficult game with aggressive play. The referees whistle stayed silent, leading to 13 fouls by the Matadors and 10 for Aggies. There were four yellow cards and one red card, and the Aggies played the final 25 minutes with 10 players after their defender drew a red card in the 65th minute.

The Matadors’ win showcased an impressive defensive line and the forawrds’ struggles. The defense suffocated the Aggies offense allowing only one goal from a penalty, 10 shots overall, and only three actual scoring opportunities. The most impressive function of the defense was they gained possessions and turned them into counter attacks.

The highest praise for the impressive performance of the defenders came from senior goalkeeper Kevin Marquez.

“Very impressive, I didn’t have much to do this game. I only had two or three saves, which is really big when we are averaging a lot more,” Marquez said.

The counter attacks started by the defenders led the Matadors to score twice. In the 58th minute the defense was able to stop the Aggies and send the ball ahead to junior forward Emmanuel Usen Jr. who was fouled in the box by the Aggies keeper.

Senior midfielder Juan Fernando Samayoa took the penalty slotting the ball into the lower right corner. Then in the 65th minute, another counter started by the defense led to sophomore midfielder Dre Deas getting taken down from behind by a defender and a second penalty for the Matadors. Samayoa again took the penalty and placed the ball in to the upper post.

After the win, Samayoa felt encouraged by defeating the conference rival.

“Awesome, it’s amazing. It’s the best feeling. We lost at home last year and beating them this time was amazing,” Samayoa said.

Head Coach Terry Davila was also impressed by the effort put forth by the Matadors.

“I don’t think you can ever play a perfect game in soccer. In soccer there are a lot of errors. We just got to get a little more focused throughout the whole game. If we can get a little more focus we will be a nice team to play against, and we will be very tough out. I like the way we are going, I like the way we are playing, we are on the right track,” Davila said.

The Matadors next game is Oct. 1 at home against the Sacramento State Hornets. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.