They’re back.
After four games in a row on the road, which stretched from Northern California all the way into the Arizona desert, the Matadors (5-3-0) return back home to host the University of San Francisco Dons (4-4-1) on Sunday at Matador Soccer Field.
San Francisco leads the all-time series 3-2-1, with their latest meeting coming last season and ending in a 0-0 tie.
‘It’s great to be back home,’ said Head Coach Keith West. ‘It’s tough playing on the road and, plus, you’re away from your family and friends, so it’s definitely difficult.’
The game will mark the third attempt that the Matadors will make at getting their 100th win in program history as they have been stuck at 99 ever since they defeated Saint Mary’s on Sept. 14.
Standing in their path will be the Dons, who are led on offense by freshman Nicole Moore this season. She is tops on the team with three goals so far, with two of them being logged as game-winners. However, they haven’t received much offense from any other source this season. They rank last in the West Coast Conference in goals (6), assists (4), and total points (16).
In direct comparison, the Matadors are third in the Big West Conference in assists (14), while they rank fourth in goals (15) and points (44). Sophomore Farryn Townley scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season during Sunday’s loss at Arizona. She is also tied for first in the conference for most game-winning goals (3).
There are eight other Matadors who have also made themselves present in the scoring charts.
‘It feels really good to contribute,’ said sophomore Katie Fox, who was the latest Matador to enter the scoring book on the season. ‘I would have preferred to win the game (against the Wildcats) than score a goal, though.’
Three Matadors are among the league leaders in assists. Freshmen Nancy
Avesyan and Brielle Slepicoff, and senior Kristal Phillips each have three, good for a second-place tie in the conference. Phillips ranks fourth on the Matador all-time list for assists with eight, and is eighth in total points with 26.
San Francisco has had its success this season thanks to their defense, who has helped to post a total of four shutouts this year. Junior goalkeeper Kelly Pohle has made 27 saves while allowing seven goals in six games in net. Their team total of 45 saves ranks second in their conference.
Northridge has been consistent on defense all season long. It has yet to allow more than two goals in a game, and the same four players have started on the back line in each contest.
However, that will change come Sunday.
Senior captain Nalena Betancourt will be forced to sit the game out after receiving a red card in the loss to Arizona. Up until that moment, Betancourt hadn’t missed a minute of action all season long.
‘We’ve been playing phenomenal defensively,’ said West. ‘We just have to keep working on improving every single day.’
San Francisco is coached by Mark Carr, who is in his second year with the program. He struggled during his first year as the team went 2-13-3 in 2007.
The Dons are heading into this weekend following a 1-0 loss to CSUN’s
Big West rival Pacific. Before Sunday’s game with the Matadors, San
Francisco will visit UC Irvine on Friday and take on the Anteaters.
The Dons will be the second team from the West Coast Conference that
Northridge will square off against this season. The first was Saint Mary’s.
‘If we can keep playing our game and shoring up our mistakes, we should get a win.’ said assistant coach Derek Hanks.
Despite the three losses in the past four games, West still feels confident.
‘We’ve lost three one-goal games to three great Pac-10 teams,’ he said. ‘I like the position we’re in. We’re playing extremely well.’
Sunday’s game will kickoff at 1 p.m.
