The Matadors once again finished in a scoreless draw in double overtime, their sixth tie of the season and most ever in a single year, as defense reigned supreme on the road against UC Irvine Friday night.
Northridge (8-4-6) recorded its second 0-0 draw of the season as senior goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo, coming fresh off a record-setting night where she earned her 30th career win in goal, let nothing slip by her, putting a stop four of the five shots on goal by the Anteaters (9-8-2). This game marks the third time out of the last six meetings between these two teams which resulted in a scoreless draw.
Though UCI outshot CSUN on offense 16-10 and had more corner kick opportunities (eight compared to Northridge’s two), Jacobo’s defensive prowess caused the eighth shutout of the year and 24th of her career. She now has 95 saves on the season with a .905 save percentage.
Both teams showed that ironclad defense comes with tough, physical play as 17 fouls were called throughout the course of the game (10 on CSUN and 7 on UCI). The lone yellow card of the game was handed to the Anteaters at the 100-minute mark of the first overtime.
Despite their strong defensive effort, the Matadors were unable to come away with a score as their offense was completely shut down by the Anteaters.
Senior forward Melissa Fernandez, who just won the Big West Offensive Player of the Week award, took two shots, one on goal, but was unable to find the back of the net. She had three goals in her previous two games and has six overall on the season shooting .120.
Redshirt sophomore Brittanie Sakajian and freshman midfielder Taylor Hobson were the only other Matadors who recorded shots on goal.
UCI dominated the ball most of the game on offense, taking nine shots in the second half, just one less than CSUN did the entire game. Forward Laura McGrail took a whopping six shots (one on goal) for the Anteaters.
The last scoreless game played by CSUN dates back to Sept. 7, where the Matadors faced Tennessee, who are currently ranked No. 23 in the nation in the coach’s poll.
