CSUN Kicks off 46th Season vs. Ranked James Madison and LMU - CSUN Athletics (2024)

Chuck Marvel

Men's Soccer 8/21/2024 4:02:00 PM

GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Soccer opens its 46th season with a pair of matches against ranked opponents to begin 2024. The Matadors host No. 18 James Madison on Thursday at 7 p.m. before visiting No. 11 LMU on Sunday at 4 p.m. Thursday's season opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

FOR STARTERS
Head coach Terry Davila enters his 26th year leading CSUN in 2024. He has fielded a mix of familiar faces and newcomers this season as 14 letterwinners have returned along with five redshirts and 13 newcomers. Five true freshmen also make up the 32-member roster.

The Matadors are looking to return to the Big West Championship this season after falling just short of the tournament last season. In 2023, CSUN went 4-6-8 overall with a 2-3-4 conference record, falling two points shy of qualifying for the Big West Championship.

TEAM AT A GLANCE
Four of the team's 14 letterwinners played in all 18 matches last season, which include seniors Marley Edwards and Zion Wagoner and sophom*ores Jorge Solorzano and Zack Harris. Edwards, Solorzano and sophom*ore Robert Kaemmerer are the only returners to start at least 10 matches from a year ago.

Solorzano returns to the Matadors after earning Big West Freshman of the Year honors and recording five goals with three assists in 2023. Other returning goal scorers include Harris who had two goals as a true freshman. Junior Enrique Pineda has also hit the net in his CSUN career, scoring twice two seasons ago while Edwards had a goal as well in 2022. Junior Arturo Reveles returns from missing all of last season as he previously had two goals and one assist in 2021.

In goal, sophom*ore Merrick Cook returns for his second season with CSUN. Cook took over starting goalkeepers late last season where he posted 18 saves and a 0.81 goals-against-average in seven total appearances.

Among the team's 13 newcomers, CSUN has added three junior college All-Americans in forward David Garcia (Blinn College) and defenders Jake Shaked (Tyler JC) and Siddiq Lezzar (LSU Eunice). Also on defense, Deryk Jones, Jr. transferred from the University of Portland along with goalkeeper Dorian Drucks who transferred from California Baptist.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Senior forward Marley Edwards collected preseason accolades as he was one-of-11 placed on the 2024 Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. Edwards enters his third and final season with the Matadors in 2024. He would compete in all 18 matches with 12 starts last season where he totaled 17 shots with six on goal. In 2022, Edwards had a goal and an assist over 19 matches.

In the 2024 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, CSUN was picked to return to the conference tournament as the Matadors received 41 points to place sixth in the poll. UC Irvine was picked to repeat as Big West champions after receiving four first-place points and 75 points to finish first.

CSUN GOES UNBEATEN IN EXHIBITION PLAY
CSUN closed its exhibition slate of games last Saturday, finishing up with an unbeaten 2-0-1 record. The Matadors would earn a 1-1 draw with UCLA at Matador Soccer Field in front of a standing room only crowd last Saturday. Odin Rosten hit a go-ahead goal off a rebound in the 81st minute to put CSUN ahead 1-0, but UCLA evened the match in the 88th minute to ensure a tie.

Earlier in the exhibition season, CSUN knocked off The Master's 6-1 at Matador Soccer Field before defeating San Diego on the road 2-1.

SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
James Madison was placed No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. The Dukes advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 last season, finishing 10-5-5 overall on the season. After finishing fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, James Madison was picked to finish fifth in the league this year. Defender Luca Nikolai was named a Preseason Third Team All-American after totaling six points last season. Nikolai and midfielder Kevin Larsson were both named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. Larsson had five goals with six assists for James Madison in 2023. Forward Evan Southern is the team's top returning goal scorer with six to go with five assists a year ago. Goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon registered a 1.22 GAA with 53 saves and three shutouts as well for James Madison.

Series History: CSUN and James Madison are playing for the first-ever time in men's soccer.

SCOUTING LMU
The Lions received a No. 11 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. Last season, LMU went10-5-6 overall and advanced the farthest into the NCAA Tournament in team history with a quarterfinal appearance. The team was picked fourth in the WCC Preseason Poll this season. Midfielder Okeefe Cunningham was placed on the Preseason All-WCC Team after picking up an assist in 2023. Other top returners include midfielder and forward Lewis Clutton who had three goals along with Steve Anderson and Anthony Wilson who had six points each last season. In goal, Massimo Oedekoven Pomponi posted a 1.03 GAA with 83 saves and eight shutouts in 20 appearances last year.

Series History: CSUN has gone 11-11-3 against LMU in the all-time series after the teams played to a scoreless draw at Matador Soccer Field in 2023. The Matadors look to snap a five-match winless streak in the series as CSUN's last win over LMU came on Sept. 6, 2009 in a 1-0 triumph.

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