After receiving a first round bye as Big West Champions and having Big West Coach of the Year Gina Brewer at the helm, the Matadors team had a chance to go all the way as they hosted the Big West playoffs. However, the women’s soccer team came up short after a 1-1 draw in double overtime.
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) went on to win 3-2 in penalty kicks, sending the Matadors home with a loss on Thursday night.
To start the game, the Matadors battled near the goal of UCSB. They spent three minutes in Gaucho territory, shortly sending the ball back to midfield.
CSUN defender Michelle Monroy took a shot at UCSB’s goal in the fourth minute only for them to recover and move the ball back upfield towards the Matadors territory after a fumbled pass by UCSB. Matador goalkeeper Riley Liebsack recovered and cleared CSUN’s goal.
It was header after header for the two teams — when momentum seemed to swing back towards the Matadors, the Gauchos would recover and clear it out from their side of the field, taking it back to the Matadors portion of the field.
A huge block was made by Liebsack, which was then quickly recovered and capitalized on by UCSB in the final seconds of the 16th minute, giving the Gauchos a 1-0 lead.
More back and forth ensued during the first period but neither team could put up any points before the end of the first half due to their strong defenses.
As the second half began, another showcase of talents occurred at midfield for some time. Shortly thereafter, the Matadors broke it back to the UCSB portion of the pitch.
CSUN then cleared the ball from midfield and was granted a free kick. However, the Matadors were not able to capitalize on their opportunities on offense.
Official stoppage was taken to check for a hand-ball call, which was confirmed for CSUN, creating a game changing moment for the Matadors at the 44th minute of the second half.
CSUN defender Paige Califf made a successful conversion on the kick attempt, sending the entire stadium into an uproar. The Matadors had a chance to take the game back when they tied it 1-1.
Neither team was able to score before the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams were unable to score during both ten minute overtime periods, causing the game to be settled by penalty kicks.
The tension was incredibly high as the crowd erupted when a UCSB player kicked. When CSUN players attempted kicks, the stadium was silent in anticipation.
UCSB ultimately came up victorious 3-2 in penalty kicks, winning the match. Despite the loss, Brewer had nothing but praise for her team as their historic season came to an end.
“This season has just been very impressive with our defense and our goalkeeping and, you know, everyone from our forwards, midfielders and backline. You know, they worked so hard defensively,” Brewer said. “The team bought into everything we were asking of them.”
Although the outcome was not what the team wanted, Brewer made it clear that this season was a huge turnaround moment for the program, which only looks to grow from here.
“I wish we would have got it done, but no matter what, we’re proud of the efforts and the quick turnaround to get this program to be a competitive program and we’re not stopping yet. We’re just getting started,” Brewer said.
