From the start of the season, Northridge men’s soccer Coach Terry Davila has said that his team’s No. 1 goal is to get to the postseason.

He cares little about accolades and hype or his team’s national ranking – only a chance, as he says, “To get to the big dance,” the NCAA tournament.

The way to make that happen? Big West Conference play.

The Matadors (6-3-1, Big West 1-0) came within one win or tie on the last game of the 2008 regular season at Matador Field against eventual conference champ UC Irvine from reaching the NCAA tournament. This year, they don’t want to be in that tight, win-or-go home predicament at season’s end. They finished in fifth place last season with a 4-3-3 record in the Big West.

After defeating UC Riverside last Wednesday, 3-1, CSUN has already collected its first conference win and looks to go 2-0 in today’s match at Cal State Fullerton (4-5-1, 0-1) versus the Titans. The Matadors have not lost to the Titans in nine games, boasting a record of 8-0-1 in that span.

CSUN swept the series last year, defeating the Titans 3-2 twice. Fullerton started the season 4-2, but has lost its last three. Both teams hit a snag in the Big West Challenge at Titan Stadium against Denver and Coastal Carolina, with both teams losing a match and tying in the other. The Matadors are 1-2-1 since having their five-game win streak snapped by Denver.

The Titans have finished next to last in conference four out of the last five seasons, but have shown improvement this year, led by junior forward Celso Alvarez’s four goals – tops on the team. Alvarez is backed up by Australia-native Shay Spitz. The senior midfielder has three goals and an assist.

Fullerton was downed in its first conference match by Cal Poly and is coming off a season in which it won just two Big West games, but Davila is not taking any conference match lightly, especially on the road.

“Every team plays a goal better at their place,” Davila said. “That’s a proven fact. If you go into somebody’s environment in the Big West, that’s very hard. Anytime there is three points to get in the Big West it’s a big deal.”

Northridge remained No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Far West poll despite losing 2-0 at New Mexico (No. 5 Far West) Saturday. Davila’s players echoed the importance of the conference season over the non-conference matches.

“[The game] is almost like six points, because you keep Fullerton from getting a win,” said senior defender Dylan Riley. “If we can knock them out right now, we won’t have to worry about them later down in the season.”

Today’s road game is the last of seven consecutive away games for the Matadors. They are 3-3-1 on the road so far.

Forward Devin Deldo goes for a shot during Friday's scoreless tie against the University of Denver. Photo Caption:

The 24th-ranked Northridge men’s soccer team (5-2-1) came into the Big West Challenge at Cal State Fullerton having won five in a row, good enough for championship trophies at its previous two tournaments.

But after its most-recent games Friday and Sunday, it leaves Fullerton a disappointed and frustrated team in danger of being dropped from the top 25.

After having their win-streak snapped in a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Denver, the Matadors took it on the chin Sunday against a physically bigger Coastal Carolina squad, 2-1.

Northridge trailed 2-0 in the second half when it substituted six-foot-four Robert Pate and six-foot-one Milan Radovic at the forward spots for added size up front, and it paid off immediately. Radovic scored his first goal of the season upon entering in the 61st minute.

But the Matadors could not find the equalizer on several near-goals, including defender Rafael Garcia’s shot that went just right as time expired. Sunday’s loss was their first since the season opener.

Northridge, on Friday, was clearly the more dynamic squad, as it dominated ball possession and out-shot Denver 14-1 in the first half. But of the Matadors’ 28 shots overall (Denver finished with just 12), not one could find the back of the Pioneers’ net.

Denver’s bend-but-don’t-break defense not only kept CSUN scoreless for 90 minutes of regulation, but for an additional 20 in overtime.

The Matadors thought they had the game-winner at the start of the second overtime when senior midfielder Sunghyun Kim punched in what would have been his third goal of the year, but the referee called him off-sides, nullifying the shot.

Northridge has now been shut out twice while recording three shutouts of its own. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Ibarra had the first two and freshman Michael Abalos – who played every minute of both games – has one.

Abalos’ first career shutout streak was short-lived, though, as he saw two Coastal Carolina goals find the net, the first coming off a corner kick and header form the left side in the first half. The second goal came in the 50th minute off a Coastal one-timer in the box.

Surprisingly, Coastal took only six shots on the match, but made them count. The Matadors also took more corners at 10-3 – but it was all for nought.

Northridge has completed four games of a seven-game road stretch and next travels to UC Riverside, Wednesday, for its first conference match of the season. The Highlanders are off to a 1-6 start and are coming off a season in which they won only a single conference match, to go along with a 4-15-1 record overall.

Northridge finished 4-3-3 in conference last season, and looks to grab its first conference win in a match it is favored to win.

Defender and midfielder Yuval Barak and the Matadors will face Tulsa and SMU at the Prego Italian Express Invitational in Dallas, Texas, this weekend. Photo Caption: Sam Bendall / Contributing Photographer

When a men’s soccer team from Southern California steps on the scene of an out-of-state tournament, the attention can soon be drawn towards them – and rightfully so.

So Cal is arguably the cradle of the best soccer played from AYSO to high school and college. The talent pool and level of play is unrivaled nationwide. Starting Friday, Cal State Northridge will try and prove that reputation as it embarks on its toughest challenge to date on the young season.

The Matadors (3-1-0) will participate in the Prego Italian Express Invitational Friday and Sunday in Dallas TX, and will match up with top 30 competition in Tulsa University and Southern Methodist University.

Matador players were chomping at the bit to get started in Dallas and show their opponents what west coast soccer is all about, according to several players.

“We don’t only represent ourselves, we represent California,” said senior forward Cameron Sims. “Everybody thinks west coast teams can’t do this and that, but we go into [the] east coast or…Texas and we’re gonna show them what Southern California teams are all about.”

The “this and that” that Sims referred to is a reputation of California flashiness and a perceived lack of physical play, according to Coach Terry Davila.

“There’s a reputation that California boys think they’re stylish and they think – especially Southern California boys – that they’re the best soccer players in the United States,” said Davila. “Most Midwest teams are tough.”

The Matadors will be in potentially hostile territory, with SMU (2-2-0) serving as host and Tulsa just north. Besides UC Santa Barbara, Tulsa (2-2-1) will be CSUN’s toughest match. The Golden Hurricanes have already played the No. 1 and No. 25 schools in the nation in Akron University and Northwestern University – losing to both.

“SMU and Tulsa are going to be very competitive because we’re going to be in there neck-of-the woods and we have to deal with a lot of different things” he said. “There are some astringent things that we’ll have to deal with up there, and we’re excited about that opportunity.”

The Matadors have not cracked the NCAA’s Far West rankings yet, but a strong performance in Dallas will surely give CSUN regional and national recognition. The team is coming off a 2-0 performance as host of the Matador Invitational last Friday and Sunday, were named co-champions along with Cal State Fullerton. But clearly, the Dallas trip will serve as a bigger measuring stick for CSUN.

“Definitely a bigger challenge,” said third-year sophomore Rafael Garcia. “We gotta be on are toes and be ready for anything.”