Historically, soccer has been a male-dominated sport in Latin American countries but, in recent years it has grown with women’s participation especially, at CSUN. With an already rich history of winning Big West titles and playoff runs, women’s soccer at Northridge has proved to be a staple of excellence in CSUN Athletics thanks to the players on the field.
These same players who add to this history, also identify as Hispanic or Latino and, with women’s soccer at CSUN becoming an important part of Matador Athletics, these women add to its rich history.
Kaylee Gutierrez, attacking midfielder for the CSUN women’s soccer team who hails from a Hispanic background. The senior midfielder is also a team leader, both on and off the field.
“I love working with Kaylee…she’s a hard worker, a competitor and she loves to win,” said Gina Brewer, women’s soccer head coach.
Gutierrez, a junior college transfer, has started in 14 games in two years for the Matadors after transferring from Mt. SAC. During CSUN’s 2-1 loss to the University of Oregon on Sept. 1, Gutierrez contributed an assist as the Matadors fell short.

Yiosselyne “Yoshi” Rubalcava comes from El Paso, Texas, but spent the last few years of her high school career in Southern California. The junior midfielder is one of the most fun players to watch on the team and one of the more experienced players as well with 16 career starts to her name.
“She is so fun to be around and coach,” Brewer said. “She has what we call technical flair…she has a lot of skill.”
As CSUN continues to grow as a university that strives to be diverse, the Latino culture on campus is not just strong in the classroom, but also on the soccer field. The Latino players that represent Northridge understand this. They bring the strong work ethic needed to create winning environments in the program they play for, providing fans with similar backgrounds a team to rally behind.