The Matadors received goals from seniors Desiree Cardenas and Sonia Espitia on Sunday afternoon on their way to a 2-0 victory against Cal Poly in a Big West matchup at San Luis Obispo.
Cardenas recorded her third goal of the season and fifth of her career while Espitia picked up her second goal of the season and fourth of her career, moving the Matadors (8-6, 3-1) into second place of the Big West standings with nine points.
History was inevitable as the victory over the Mustangs (6-7-1,1-2-1) ended the Matadors four-game skid at San Luis Obispo.
Mustang forward Cici Kobinski opened the game with a corner kick just 55 seconds into the event, and forward Morgan Miller followed with a shot and had it blocked in the first minute of action.
The Matadors then took it from there with Cardenas taking the first shot for Northridge in the seventh minute with freshman forward Brittanie Sakajian at her heel with another shot soon after.
The Matadors then heralded shot after shot at the Mustangs net. First Espitia had a wide shot in the 10th minute then sophomore forward Melissa Fernandez and junior defender Brielle Slepicoff had shots on goal in the 11th and 13th minute of action.
The Mustangs never had a chance as Espitia quickly started the shutout scoring in the 21st minute of the game off an assist from senior forward Farryn Townley. Espitia kicked the ball from 15 yards out and over Cal Poly goalkeeper Brooke Gauvin’s head into the post.
Later in the first half, the Mustangs Kobinski and Haley Walker each had shots in the 35th and 38th minute of action. Matador goalkeeper sophomore Cynthia Jacobo saved Kobinski’s shot and Walker’s shot was high. After the shots not much action was seen the rest of the first half.
As the second period started the Matadors came out once again firing shots at the Mustangs goal. Two minutes into the second period junior forward Alexis Barbara and Brittanie Sajakjian had wide shots in the 47th minute. The Mustangs followed suit with a high shot from forward Morgan Miller in the 50th minute of play.
The Mustangs and Matadors exchange shots until the 77th minute of action when Cardenas scored off a header from Espitia’s second assist of the season and sixth assist of her career. The goal gives Cardenas her second score in the previous three games.
With a 2-0 deficit, Cal Poly desperately attempted to get back into the game with a shot in the 79th minute by Kobinski that ventured wide, and a shot by defender Carrie Andrews in the 87th minute that also went wide. A final shot by forward Monica Hemenez in the 89th minute of action ultimately sealed the Mustangs, recording their second conference loss in a row.
With her fifth shutout of the season, Jacobo has now collected ten career shutouts, which moves her into second all-time in school history. Jacobo now has the third most wins in school history with 13 as a goalkeeper.
Cal Poly goalkeeper Gauvin had four saves of the night and the team contributed to one save on goal.
Overall CSUN outshot Cal Poly 12-8 with seven shots on goal compared to the Mustangs three. Yet the Mustangs led the Matadors with two corner kicks to zero for Northridge, both teams received flags for 10 fouls with Sakajian called for a yellow card in the 90th minute of action.
Next up the Matadors will be under pressure as they go up against No. 19 UC Irvine on Friday night at Anteater Stadium. UCI is undefeated in the Big West Conference posting a 4-0 record and has won their last 12 matches.
