Heidi Farran’s first goal of the season was not enough Sunday afternoon as CSUN was defeated 2-1 by Long Beach State in a Big West Conference game.
Lindsay Bullock, 49er midfielder, scored the game-winning goal for Long Beach in the 33rd minute at George Allen Field.
After a cross by Marysol Rosas, Bullock knocked the deciding goal into the net off a header to the right side of the post past sophomore goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo, who had three saves for the night.
With the win, Long Beach State (11-4-2, 4-1-1 Big West) etches past CSUN (10-8-0, 4-3-0 Big West) for second place in the Big West standings with 13 points, while the Matadors fall to third place with 12 points.
Northridge had a close chance to tie the game in the 68th minute when senior forward Farryn Townley had a close shot on the net that ventured high. She was disappointed with Sunday’s loss and felt the team should have won the game.
“It was a really tough loss just like the UC Irvine game,” Townley said. “Long Beach State is a good team. They are very physical. It is hard losing to a team that way because we played extremely hard and we deserved to win.”
Long Beach State was first to strike on the cool cloudy afternoon as defender Bo Rael wasted no time and scored off a header in the fourth minute of action. Forward Nicole Sweetman made the assist on a corner kick.
Junior forward Farran then put one away for the Matadors, tying things up with her fifth career goal. Senior Sonia Espitia assisted on the play for the third time this season, dribbling past a couple of defenders on the sideline before sending a cross to Farran that she knocked into the net in the 24th minute of regulation.
After Bullock’s goal in the 33rd minute, CSUN had a couple possessions that could have tied the game. Melissa Fernandez had a shot on goal saved in the 85th minute of the game and Desiree Cardenas managed to score in the final 10 minutes of the game, but the Matadors had the goal reversed due to an offsides call.
Contrary to the loss, Northridge played well, outscoring the 49ers 11-9 with a 7-1 shot advantage in the second half. The 49ers led the game in corner kicks 4-3 and Long Beach goalkeeper Emily Kingsbourough had three saves as well in the win for her team.
The referees flagged the 49ers for 12 fouls in the game and called the Matadors for nine. Both teams had a player receive a yellow card.
Matador sophomore defender Stephanie Norton was flagged late in the second half, and a short while later Kingsbourough was flagged for delay of game.
The Matadors have two games remaining in the regular season, with the first being the last conference game against Cal State Fullerton at Matador Field Friday night.
Following that match, the Matadors will have one day of rest before the team hosts Seattle University in a non-conference game Sunday at 1 p.m.
