An early goal by senior forward Heidi Farran was all the CSUN women’s soccer needed to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 1-0, Thursday evening to move into a first-place tie with UC Irvine in the Big West Conference standings.
Farran, who scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season, put the Matadors (6-7-2, 4-1-1) ahead in the eighth minute of play. Junior forward Melissa Fernandez made her way through the penalty box and passed the ball to senior defender Brielle Slepicoff, who then found Farran wide open. Farran shot the ball to the left post, beating Titan goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic.
“It was a great build-up and when I got the pass, I thought about cutting it inside, but I saw two players so I just took a swing,” Farran told gomatadors.com. “I was a little off balance, but a goal is a goal and I’ll surely take it.”
Junior goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo continued her strong play, including a save on redshirt sophomore midfielder Kishi Smith’s shot.
With both teams leading the conference at 13 points, CSUN and UCI will play on Sunday evening at the Matador Soccer Field for sole position of first place.
