After a difficult season where the men’s soccer team finished the year 2-8-7 overall and 0-5-4 in Big West play. The Matadors struggled to find their footing as they missed out on playoffs for the second year in a row.
And with a year filled with very little highs such as a win against 11th ranked LMU in the early stages of the year. The Matadors season was also filled with lows, and a good amount of them.
From injuries to disappointing losses, the biggest disappointment for the Matadors season was the team being unable to register a win in Big West play.
Not only was the team unable to record a win throughout the year but CSUN also finished last in the conference. A feat head coach Terry Davila and the program haven’t dealt with since 2014, the most recent season CSUN finished last.
But how did the Matadors get here?
Throughout the season the Matadors allowed 29 goals in 17 games, which ranked second to last in the Big West. And from an offensive perspective, it wasn’t much better. CSUN ranked tied for last with Cal Poly in goals scored with 19, only ranking above the Mustangs due to less games played.
Davila spoke on the offensive productions his team engineered throughout the year and noted although his team did create opportunities there was still much to improve on.
“I thought we were one of the top teams in the nation producing opportunities, but we weren’t a complete team on and off the ball,” Davila said.
And Davila isn’t that far off, in fact CSUN finished second in the Big West in corner opportunities with 102. That’s just behind Cal State Fullertons 122.
The question moving forward is who can be the one to convert these goals?
Looking at the team, Deryk Jones Jr. and Michael Blevins tied for first in goals scored with four. But when you look at shots Jorge Solorzano leads the team with 35, just five more than Marley Edwards who comes in at 30.
Now look at this from a Big West perspective, just in 17 games CSUN ranked tied for 5th with Cal Poly with 232 shots. In fact, the Matadors recorded 13.65 shots per game, which would be good enough for second in the Big West, just behind Fullerton who also conveniently lead the conference in goals scored.
Davila noted that this state of play is just unluckiness and that was prevalent in the final few matches of the year such as the game against Fullerton.
“You can’t blame the players, you know, you got to look at the big whole picture,” Davila said. “I thought we were a bit unlucky. We scored our own goal against Fullerton, and then against San Luis Obispo, we had an unfortunate bounce hit our hand. We felt like we dominated both games, but we learned a lot about ourselves, and we learned what it takes to win a game.”
Despite the tough end to the year Davila was proud of his team for what they were able to overcome. Three Matadors were selected for All-Big West selections for their efforts on the field and Davila stated it took a whole team effort to get to the end of the year.
“You always have to look deep inside as a coach, things that you have to improve on,” Davila said. “We have expectations and we didn’t fulfill them and if people look at the results those kids had to learn how to persevere and have the inner drive. We play for ourselves. We play for our personal pride, and I really respect what the young players did.”
After a tough year the Matadors have much to look forward to for the 2025 season. With players such as Blevins and Solorzano returning for the team and a defense led by Jones Jr., Davila has the program where he wants for a bounce back year next season.
