After a full week off following their 2-1 opening day overtime victory against the San Diego State Aztecs, the CSUN women’s soccer team will play two games in three days this weekend.

The Matadors (1-0-0) will continue their season at home on Friday morning when they take the field against Southern Utah University. The Thunderbirds (0-1-0) are coming off of a 5-0 opening day loss at home against UC Riverside last Friday.

Last season, the Thunderbirds finished 7-6-5 overall and ended up finishing third in The Summit League. Friday will mark the first time ever that these two teams will square off against one another.

‘We don’t know much about Southern Utah,’ said assistant coach Derek Hanks. ‘It’s the fist time we have ever played them, so we plan to focus on our game rather then theirs.’

In Hanks’ words, focusing on their own game means communicating with one another and staying intense.

Head coach Keith West agreed with that approach.

‘We need to just play our game, do what we do best and go from there,’ he said.

The fact that Southern Utah was shut out at home on opening day and that the Matadors won a close game to start their season gives Northridge the mental edge heading into Friday.

‘Winning the first game of the season is a huge momentum builder,’ said Hanks.

Despite the win, Hanks also said there are some areas where the team needs improvement. Communication is one of them, and they are already woking on it..

The Thunderbirds are led by eight-year head coach Brian Stock, who’s been at the helm since their women’s soccer program began back in 2001. Stock was awarded Mid-Continent Conference Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2005.

Friday’s game is set to start at 11:30 a.m. at Matador Soccer Field.

After an off day, the Matadors will hit the road for the first time this season and head north to take on CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. The Roadrunners (1-1-0) split their first two games of the season and have a match against Fresno State tomorrow as well.

Last season, Northridge defeated Bakersfield 3-2 late in the season. It will be a little tougher challenge this time around as they will play at their venue.

‘It’s always a test playing on the road,’ said Hanks. ‘The home team always has an advantage.’

That was exactly the case last season for the Matadors, as they went 1-6-0 on the road. However the Roadrunners, led by third-year coach Nicole Van Dyke, had a sub-par 3-4-0 home record in 2007, and an overall record of 5-13-1.

On the field, Bakersfield is led by senior captain Jackie Torvestad on defense. However, that same line of players is coming off a poor effort after allowing five goals to UC Riverside last Sunday.

Coach West thinks getting off to a quick start, something the Matadors couldn’t do against the Aztecs, is the key to victory.

‘We didn’t start off too well,’ West said in regards to last Friday’s match. ‘We need to improve on that and have a better start to the game.’

Both West and Hanks agree that improvement and sticking to their game plan is the most important key to having a successful weekend.

‘If we can play our game and stay focused for each 90 minutes,’ said Hanks. ‘Then we should be able to come away with two victories this weekend.’

Sunday’s game in Bakersfield is set to begin at 7 p.m.