NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – UC Riverside resumed its Big West schedule on Sunday night at Matador Soccer Field with a 2-0 defeat to CSUN.
UCR saw a positive start on the ball to its third conference outing of 2025. Lauren Nguyen perused the final third in the fourth minute and passed it off to Finley Aghassi, whose craftily bent attempt deflected up and over the crossbar. UCR avoided disaster in the seventh on a ball that spun just wide enough of the left post.
Spenser Gonzales kept the Highlanders sharp on the ball with a pair of set pieces, as both sides created and missed on promising scoring opportunities inside of 15 minutes. Nguyen had a shot blocked in the 25th minute while UC Riverside continued to swarm the final third.
Paige Gartner held a defender locked down on the left side in the 29th and received backup from Jayla Justice deep in front of Trinity Hale. Gartner drew the foul to send play going the other way, where Hale punched a ball away in the 32nd and watched the follow up sail over everything.
Selena Hernandez, who surpassed 1,000 minutes for her UCR career, let a shot fly seven minutes after checking in to keep pressure on in the 36th.
CSUN broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute and almost doubled the lead before the break, were it not for Nikki Velasco's endline clearance. The Matadors put up their second shortly after halftime in the 51st.
Sarah Mahfoud missed left with an attempt from just outside the 18 to keep UCR active on the ball. The Highlanders continued pushing the pace in the 64th and Gartner jumped into the attack, but was too hot with the finish and sent it wide of the left post.
UC Riverside won a foul in the 73rd minute on the evening's first booking in the attacking midfield, where Hernandez sent in a heavy ball just over the bar. Hale kept the deficit manageable in the 78th minute with a penalty save to her diving left and CSUN sent the rebound over the endline.
Jayla Justice won a hard challenge in the midfield and sent a ball into the penalty area inside 10 minutes to play, leading to a throw near the corner flag. UCR stayed on the ball for some time until Gonzales sent a free kick straight to CSUN's keeper.
UCR returns to action on Thursday, October 2, to host Long Beach State at 7:30 on ESPN+. Tickets are available now at GoHighlanders.com/tickets.
