The Matadors (5-11-3, 3-4-3 Big West) wrapped up their season last Thursday with a tough 3-0 loss to UC Davis (13-4-2) and unfortunately missed out on a playoff berth for the third consecutive year.

Under the leadership of new head coach Gina Brewer, this season has been the first positive season for the program since 2019, offering a glimmer of hope for the future.

Compared to last season, CSUN demonstrated significant improvement, securing four additional wins—three of which were against conference opponents—and narrowly missing the postseason by just one spot.

Both offensive and defensive aspects of the team’s performance saw notable development, and the Matadors appear to have established a solid foundation with a promising core of returning players.

The offense displayed increased aggression in 2024, averaging two more shots per game than the previous season, which contributed to a total of 15 goals this season. This offensive surge was largely driven by juniors Yoshi Rubalcava and Cailey Jackson, who not only led the team in scoring but also tied for second in assists, trailing only senior midfielder Ashly Torres. Their contributions were crucial in elevating the team’s attack by creating more scoring opportunities throughout the season.

Defensively, the Matadors were anchored by goalkeeper Riley Liebsack, who recorded three shutouts and finished second in saves per game among all Big West goalies. CSUN also benefited from the emergence of freshman defender Sydney Lipkin, who stepped up to fill in for injured players, earning high praise from Coach Brewer for her composure and adaptability.

The biggest struggle for the Matadors early on was understanding how the team was going to operate under a new coach and a new system. They started the season off with three straight losses before finally getting their first win against LMU, but their struggles continued through non-conference play as they finished 2-7-0 prior to Big West play. The team also struggled on the road, where they went 2-7-1 while going 3-4-2 at home.

Luckily, the Matadors started to find their footing once the Big West conference games started. CSUN ended up going 3-4-3 in conference play with important wins against Cal State Bakersfield and Long Beach State. Unfortunately, they dropped a crucial game against Cal Poly late in the season that could have helped get them in the Big West Tournament.

Coach Brewer’s focus for the offseason is to build off of this year and figure out the on-field identity of the team moving forward.

“The main focus will be to continue to improve. We focus on the four moments of the game: attacking, defending, transition to attack and transition to defense, and then we look at the thirds of the field essentially,” Brewer said. “So what we’ll do in the offseason is really look and really be clear in what we’re wanting in all of those moments and all of those areas of the field.”

Now that a foundation has been laid out by Coach Brewer and her staff, the team has the ability to make the postseason moving forward.

However, the team is not satisfied with their improvements and is determined to reach their ultimate goal of a Big West Championship. The team’s resilience, along with the coaching staff’s cohesive vision, provide a promising outlook for the future of CSUN women’s soccer.

“We’ve laid down that base layer of, ‘what we want to do, who we are and what we’re about’ and now we have to get into more sophisticated layers and continue progressing from there,” Brewer said. “So we are really happy with what we’ve started.”