CSUN goalkeeper Amanda Delgado had bodies flying at her in all directions in the 17th minute. A shot rang off an unseen boot and Delgado was ready to react and punch the ball away.
Just minutes later, Delgado was tested again when four red jerseys all collided upon her, and she stood her ground.
Delgado and her defense faced pressure all night long from Texas Tech, but the stout effort still wasn’t enough.
Forward Jade King scored two goals, and CSUN fell at home to No. 24 Texas Tech 2-0.
The Matadors saw its two-game winning streak end and have lost three straight home games to start the season.
Despite the loss, Delgado finished with six saves. The freshman’s physicality in goal along with her game management may have solidified her role as the starter of the future.
“It’s funny because when I first came into camp, all the coaches were saying that I had to become tougher,” Delgado said. “I needed to do a better job of handling the contact, and so I’ve adjusted.”
Delgado, however, could do very little against Texas Tech’s superior ball control. The Red Raiders connected effectively on both sides of the field and forced CSUN to chase the ball for the better part of 90 minutes.
The Red Raiders notched their third win a row for the team’s fifth clean sheet of the CSUN after keeping the Matadors out of the goal.
Coach Keith West felt his team played one of it’s better games all season despite the loss.
“I felt tonight was one of our more complete performances,” West said. “Texas Tech is a very good team and in my opinion are a top 10 team. But I loved the way we played, and I loved our fight from everyone tonight. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for at the end of the night.”
CSUN lost forward Alyssa Aguilar who injured her right ankle midway through the second half. Aguilar leads the Matadors in assists, but West thinks Aguilar could be ready to play in Sunday’s final nonconference game at Cal State Bakersfield.
“She’s tough, injuries are part of the game,” West said. “But hopefully she’ll be OK. She’s been huge for us all year long so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
CSUN’s only offensive threat came from Kirsten Von Meter who had two shots on goal. CSUN (3-3-1) is on pace to repeat last season’s nonconference record (5-3-5). Von Meter thinks her team will find its rhythm at the start of Big West play.
“We went through a similar patch like last season,” Von Meter said. “We definitely had our ups and downs, but we battled through it and ended up having a great season. This team is more than capable of making it happen again.”
