This weekend the Cal State Northridge women’s soccer team (6-8, Big West 2-2) will have a great opportunity to move up in the Big West standings. The Matadors travel to UC Riverside (5-6-3, 0-3) to take on the Highlanders Friday before heading to Cal State Fullerton (3-7-3, 1-2).
Northridge is coming off the most important victory of the season at UC Davis last Sunday because the win tied the Matadors for fourth place in the Big West. The top four teams reach the conference tournament at the end of the year.
These two games provide a huge opportunity for CSUN. It is their final two road games of the year, and they will be played against the two worst teams in the conference standings.
The Highlanders had high hopes entering conference play considering they were once 5-2-3 on the year. Since that point, they have lost four games in a row.
Riverside has played in almost all one-goal games, so they have a lot of experience in crunch time.
Despite only scoring nine goals on the year, the Highlanders offer a three-pronged attack. Senior forwards Denise Thomas and Ashley Parks, alongside freshman forward Kayla Troesh all have at least 19 shots on the year and four of the nine goals.
Northridge will look to shut down the three offensive leaders and start the weekend off on the right foot. Following the game against Riverside, CSUN will finish the road trip at Fullerton.
The Titans only win in conference was against Riverside 1-0.
Like Riverside, Fullerton does not have any one player to key on defensively. They have three players who lead the team with two goals: Freshman midfielder Brisa Gonzalez, junior defender Tamara Dewey and junior midfielder Danielle Bitonti.
If there was one player CSUN should keep an eye on, it would be Dewey. Even though she is a defender, her two goals have come on only six shots. She has a strong leg that is very accurate.
The Titans have been outscored 15-7 on the season and have struggled to get consistency in net. They have used three goalkeepers, none of which have a winning record.
If Northridge can play with the effort and intensity they brought at Davis, they should have the opportunity for a couple of wins.
With six points, Northridge will put a lot of pressure on the rest of the conference to keep winning, especially Pacific and Irvine, the schools CSUN is currently tied with. Following the weekend, the Matadors will come home for its last three games, starting with a non-conference match against Cal State Bakersfield.
