It’s not often that you get to see David take down Goliath, but CSUN did just that by defeating the University of California Santa Barbara’s men’s soccer team, which is ranked 30th in the nation. CSUN men’s soccer season, as well as John Andersen’s collegiate career, ended Sunday.

Andersen is the Matador of the Week for not only helping his team win on Sunday but also playing a big part for his team for four years. Since Andersen has been with CSUN, he has never had the experience of beating the Gauchos.

CSUN hasn’t beaten UCSB since the 2013 Big West Tournament. Since then, CSUN has gone 1-7-1 against the Gauchos.

Andersen scored the first point in the game and after this, his teammates tackled him as if he scored the game-winning goal.

“Honestly scoring the goal felt incredible because that was basically my last competitive game of soccer I’m ever going to play and to end it in such a highlight was an incredible feeling,” said Andersen.

As the clock wound down, CSUN forward Jamar Ricketts put the final nail in the coffin by scoring a chip shot into the goal to send UCSB back to the beach.

“It felt incredible, especially coming off a pretty bad season,” Andersen said. “Not much was going right for us, but it ended in beating such a quality team, and to do it in a convincing fashion was really rewarding.”

Andersen got his first taste of CSUN soccer in 2017 against Grand Canyon University during his freshman year by coming off the bench at the end of the half.

“I got an assist, it wasn’t given to me, but I still got an assist. I still remember that because it was my first time ever being subbed into a soccer game,” Andersen said. He was extremely nervous at first, but his nerves began to calm down a minute later.

Throughout his four years at CSUN, Andersen has been studying economics and is expected to graduate this fall. After graduating, Andersen will remember the life advice his head coach Terry Davila has given the team: “The only thing that truly matters is family, nothing else matters at the end of the day.”

Although his collegiate career is over, Andersen still wants to train and participate in soccer games for fun.

When collegiate soccer players are done, they tend to join indoor or recreational soccer leagues. Andersen said he is open to playing indoor soccer. Since Andersen is from Pomona, Calif., there are many opportunities for him to get involved in the game again with there being an indoor soccer facility in the city.

Andersen finished his CSUN career playing 55 games with a total of eight goals. He said he wouldn’t have been able to play for four years without the support and encouragement from coaches, family and friends.