There will be no postseason for the CSUN women’s soccer team.
The Matadors dropped their second to last game of the season, 1-0, on Thursday night when they traveled to the University of California, Riverside.
The game was must-win in order to keep their Big West Conference tournament hopes alive. At the very least, they needed to play the UC Riverside Highlanders to a draw. The loss effectively eliminated the Matadors from tournament qualification.
The loss was the third straight for the Matadors who have seen their early season momentum disappear. They have failed to score a goal since their Oct. 18 win over the University of Hawaii.
They were outshot by the Highlanders, 17-7 including 8-2 shots on goal.
The Highlanders would strike first at the 23rd minute mark off a header from junior forward Brittany Mata.
The Matadors would managed to hold off the Highlanders for the rest of the first half, and head into halftime trailing by only a single goal.
In the second half, the Matadors defense, which has been their calling card throughout much of this season, was strong, keeping the Highlanders off the scoreboard.
Senior goalkeeper Cynthia Tafoya has anchored the Matadors defense all season long and she had six saves alone in the second half.
However, the Matadors could not turn their defensive prowess into offense and they failed to score a goal for the third straight game.
The Highlander defense stepped as well, holding the Matadors to only three shots in the second half. Two of those shots came within the final 15 minutes of action.
Standout sophomore forward Cynthia Sanchez had that last attempt at tying the score, but her shot at the 87th minute mark was saved by Highlander senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Silas.
While the Matadors will not advance to the postseason, they will have something left to play for as they will honor their graduating seniors at their final home game.
Taking the field for the last time will be Tafoya, midfielder Tabitha Dickson, defender Kendall Moskal, and midfielder Lyndsey Preston.
They will be honored before the home crowd prior to kickoff against the University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos.
Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
