It happened with only one minute gone by in the first half.
Cynthia Sanchez kicked in her sixth goal of the season, and moved into the top 10 in most goals scored in California State University, Northridge women’s soccer history.
The goal set the tone early and the Matadors easily dispatched the visiting University of Detroit-Mercy Titans (2-4), 3-0 as they pushed their win streak to five games and improve to 5-1 on the season.
A sophomore forward, Sanchez is the team leader in goals scored this season and has already eclipsed the total number of goals she had her entire freshman year. She scored CSUN’s two goals in Friday’s 2-1 victory at Fresno State University.
Having suffered a major injury prior to this season in which she injured both her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament, Sanchez credited her teammates for helping her rehab and for continuing to push her.
“There were moments that I doubted myself but they were always there to back me up,” said Sanchez. “I would not have imagined today that I would be in the top 10.”
With 13 minutes having passed, the Matadors would score again in the first half, this time from freshman defender, Lindsay Kutscher, her first goal of the season.
Taking a 2-0 lead into halftime, the Matadors entered cruise control in the second half and were never really threatened by the Titans.
CSUN Head Coach Keith West has maintained all along that as long as the team continues to pay attention to detail and take of the little things, the wins will come.
“Everybody has to keep playing their role,” said West. “We have to stay consistent and take care of the small stuff.”
With five minutes having passed in the second half, the Matadors managed to score one more goal, this one coming from senior defender, Kendall Moskal. The goal was assisted by junior defender, Nicole Thompson.
Aside from the offense, one of the main aspects in each of the Matadors wins this season has been their defense. They shut out the Titans and have only given up two goals during their five game win streak.
Their defense was on full display against the Titans, allowing only one shot on goal the entire match, compared to their 11.
A major part of the team’s defense this season has been senior goalkeeper, Cynthia Tafoya. She had a few key saves against Fresno State and added a few more on Sunday.
“I help give our team confidence and make sure that there is someone behind them,” said Tafoya. “If they make a mistake I will be there to clean it up.”
To this point, four of the Matadors six games have been played in front of their home crowd. As the season rolls on, they will embark on long five game road trip, beginning with the 2015 Nike Portland Invitational next weekend.
“It is always hard to go on the road,” said West. “But we are excited to try and get a win against some good teams.”
The Matadors will face off against the University of Washington Huskies on Friday, Sept. 11 and the University of Portland Pilots on Sunday, Sept. 13 during the tournament.
They will then make stops at Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, and the University of San Diego to conclude the road trip.
“One of the most challenging things is going to be bringing our energy,” said Sanchez. “We are going to have to pick each other up and be each others energy.”
Sanchez is confident however that the team will be ready to meet the challenge.
“We are an intelligent team,” said Sanchez. “We are going to remember what we do in practice and we are going to bring it.”
The Matadors will return home on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. against Texas Tech University. That will be the their last non conference game before they open up Big West Conference play at the University of California, Davis on Oct. 4.
