The Matadors (7-5-1, 0-0-1), will be looking to bounce back, after being winless their last three games, in their game against conference foe, UC Irvine (5-6-1, 1-0), this Thursday.
Last week, the Matadors followed their first losing streak of the season with a tie against UC Davis.
The Matadors offense has been shut down over that three-game span, only scoring two goals to the opposing team’s six goals.
However, the offense has been able to keep pace with opposing teams in terms of shots, shooting 45 times to the opposing teams 46.
In spite of the power outage offensively, the team will look to get their offense rolling again when sophomore forward Cynthia Sanchez returns to the pitch this weekend.
Defensively, the Matadors are still looking in prime shape. Senior goalkeeper Cynthia Tafoya continues to protect the goal, posting 13 saves over the last three games.
She shut out UC Davis with six saves in their last game.
UC Irvine is coming off a win against UC Riverside on Sunday and having won two of their last three games.
UC Irvine has only been able to score more than one goal in a game once this season and has a 7.1 shot percentage on the season.
Many of their wins are rooted in their defense, particularly senior goalkeeper Corey Tobin who has 51 saves and five shutouts this season.
Ultimately, this match up will be about which offense can step up.
The Matadors have been struggling the last three games but UC Irvine’s offense has been struggling all season, which is auspicious for CSUN.
The Matadors currently also lead the conference with 24 season goals while UC Irvine is last in the conference with eight total goals.
Both defenses will be looking to continue stellar play and both goalkeepers will try to keep their high skill of play going against the two struggling offenses.
The players to watch for the Matadors are Sanchez and junior midfielder Kourtney Kutscher who have been the stars of the offense leading up to the offensive drought.
The player to watch for UC Irvine is sophomore forward Kiana Palacios who leads the team with three assists, as well as having one goal on the season. Also, Tobin who has not let up her high level of play.
The Matadors face UC Irvine at Matador Soccer Field on Thursday at 7 p.m.
