CSUN women’s soccer matched up with the University of San Diego in their final matchup of non-conference play. Things took a turn for the worse Thursday night at home for the Matadors as the defense surrendered two late goals.

Both teams entered the match struggling, with three combined wins between them. For either team, a win would boost confidence heading into conference play, while a loss would hinder any momentum.

The Matadors’ defense held strong for most of the night, despite Toreros controlling the offensive attack all night.

In the 81st minute, with less than nine minutes remaining, the Matadors’ defense finally broke. Toreros (2-4-3) sophomore midfielder Mikayla Abrenica scored the first goal of the match with a powerful left foot shot just from outside the box, past the diving hands of redshirt junior goalkeeper Riley Liebsack.

The panic set in for CSUN as the final whistle approached. Three minutes later the Matadors made their final push of the game with a shot from redshirt freshman Jordyn Canister, but she was not able to get enough power behind the kick and it was saved by sophomore goalie Ilise Medrano.

A minute later, Toreros sealed the win when senior midfielder Lexi Zandonella-Arasa scored ending any hopes the Matadors had of a comeback. The Matadors allowed two goals in the span of four minutes.

“Defensively we weren’t putting enough pressure on the ball to win the individual battles that needed to be won. We needed to be more dangerous and attack obviously to score goals,” said CSUN head coach Gina Brewer. “First and foremost you have to keep the ball back out of the net and we gave them two easy opportunities to finish.”

The Matadors (2-7) certainly had their own opportunities, including a pivotal moment in the 73rd minute mark.

Canister got a lucky bounce and was able to get past her defender and with no opposition in front of her, she shot it just wide, nailing the crossbar, and deflecting back out into the box where multiple players surrounded the ball before it was eventually cleared.

The missed opportunity was significant for the squad, as it was their best chance of the night to score.

CSUN started strong, creating three chances in the first five minutes. After that the offense struggled to create opportunities, spending most of the game defending.

“We weren’t sure what formation they were going to play, they played a handful of different formations, we tried to be ready for everything,” said Brewer. “With them playing a 3-4-6-1 formation we needed to be much more attacking minded and look to play balls in behind. It took us a while to get going and try to figure it out and unfortunately we didn’t have our best game as a staff and players.”

San Diego dominated offensive, outshooting CSUN 11-4.

As non-conference play concludes, the Matadors will look to try to find their rhythm. Their next matchup will be a tough one, as they host the defending Big West champions Cal State Fullerton (2-6-1).

“We start with a tough run obviously we have Fullerton at home, you know tomorrow they have a day off and we have to come back on Saturday and be ready to go against them and we’re just going to coach them up the best we can,” said Brewer.