Box Score Northridge—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team needed a win Wednesday evening at CSUN to keep its postseason hopes alive, but after the Highlanders scored in the fourth minute of play, the Matadors netted two unanswered goals to win the match and effectively end UCR's season.
In the other South Division match of the night, Cal State Fullerton beat UC Irvine, 1-0, but the Highlanders are four points back of the Anteaters with one match to play, and therefore can't catch the 'Eaters for the three seed in the division.
| South Division | | | | |
| Team | W | L | T | Pts |
| Cal State Fullerton | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| CSUN | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| UC Irvine | 3 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| UC Riverside | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
Things looked promising for the Highlanders in the early going as Ricardo Ruiz's shot from 25 yards out with 3:22 gone off the clock in the first put UC Riverside up, 1-0. Just over 11 minutes later, the Highlanders were whistled for a foul in their defensive 18, and the Matadors' Trevor Morley converted on the subsequent penalty kick to tie the score.
CSUN netted the go-ahead score in the 75th minute of play as Gabe Robinson's long throw-in found Papi Diouf in the box, and Diouf's header beat the Highlanders to the far post.
UC Riverside pushed for the equalizer hoping to extend its season into overtime, but the Matadors defense held up over the final 15 minutes of play to secure the win.
The Highlanders host Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 7 pm PT in the final regular season match for both teams. UC Riverside will honor its five seniors in a special ceremony prior to the start of the match.
