The CSUN women’s soccer team was unable to secure a playoff spot after losing to UC Santa Barbara 2-0 at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara on Oct. 20 and to Cal Poly 3-1 on Oct. 22 at the Cal Poly Sports Complex in San Luis Obispo.
The Matadors’ record slipped to 10-8-0 overall and 3-4-0 in Big West matches. UC Santa Barbara is 6-6-5 and 4-1-1 and Cal Poly is 9-5-3 and 3-0-3.
Against UC Santa Barbara, the Matadors were unable to infiltrate the Gauchos’ defense. After averaging 13.8 shots per game this season, CSUN was held to only five shots in the entire game, all in the second half. The Gauchos took 12 shots in the match, six in each half.
UC Santa Barbara attacked early, scoring their first goal in the fourth minute of the game. Forward Allie Kueny took advantage of a shot that bounced off a CSUN defender and put the ball into the net. Forward Chandi Bickford and midfielder Sami Svrcek assisted on the goal.
In the second half, the Matadors were able to generate more offense, with forward Kristal Phillips, defender Shanna Hudson and midfielders Susie Mischenko, Devon Nizich and Rilesha Haynie each taking one shot. Three of the shots were on goal, but were saved by Santa Barbara goalkeeper Katie Wright.
Santa Barbara scored again in the 72nd minute, when Kueny put her second shot of the night past CSUN goalkeeper April Cline. Svrcek had a team-high four shots for the Gauchos, while defender Kandice McLaughlin matched Kueny’s two shots. Forward Genelle Ives, defender Lexi Eaton and midfielders Michelle Russell, Sarah Stoltz and Erin Doherty each had one shot during the game.
Cline made four saves during the game.
With the win, the Gauchos extended their all-time winning streak against the Matadors to six.
Despite the loss, the Matadors still had a chance to get into the playoffs with a win against Cal Poly and some help from Santa Barbara via a win or tie in one of their games against Pacific or Cal Poly. Although Santa Barbara did their part by tying Pacific on Oct. 22, the Matadors were unable to get the win they needed against the Mustangs.
CSUN scored first in the game, when Mischenko headed in a corner kick from defender Sara Davis at 17:54. During this season, the Matadors’ record has been 9-0 when they score first, but unfortunately, the trend didn’t hold for this game.
The Mustangs tied the score at 1-1 in the second half when midfielder Heidi McQuitty headed in a corner from defender Kim Yackzan in the 52nd minute.
Matador forward Carrie Faith Murphy received a red card for a hard tackle in the 63rd minute and the Matadors had to play the rest of the game one player short. The Mustangs were able to take advantage of the situation and scored six minutes later, on a cross from defender Kaleena Andruss to forward Kelsey Carroll. The Mustangs went ahead 3-1 in the 81st minute after a shot by Carroll was deflected and put into the net by forward Ashley Vallis.
The Mustangs took 13 shots in the game, led by Carroll with four shots and followed by McQuitty with two shots. Defenders Kristina Condon-Sherwood and Andruss, midfielders Melissa Woo, Erica Leger and Jessica Rodriguez, and forwards Erica Zumbahlen and Vallis had one shot in the game. Cal Poly goalkeeper Alli Tramel had two saves during the game.
For CSUN, Davis led the Matadors with three shots. Phillips and midfielders Devon Nizich and Mischenko each had one shot. Goalkeeper April Cline had two saves and there was one team save during the match.
CSUN seniors Tessa Binkley, Jessy Borges, Cline, Davis and Nizich will play in their last collegiate game on Oct. 26 when the Matadors play their final match of the 2006 season against Pepperdine at Matador Soccer Field.
