NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Johnny Rodriguez scored twice in 12 minutes in the first half to lead CSUN to hand No. 7/8 Washington its first defeat of the season, 3-1, Thursday night
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Rodriguez broke the seal for CSUN (ranked 27th in the College Soccer News Top 30) in the 11th minute when he received a long pass from Julio Rubio and took a shot from 10 yards out that went left to right past Huskies' goalie Bryce Logan.
Here is a look at the 1st goal of the night from #9 Johnny Rodriguez pic.twitter.com/gNMnBrRxYB
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) September 13, 2019
Rodriguez recorded his sixth goal of the year 12 minutes later when he headed in a Daniel Trejo pass that came off an Ehi Isibor throw-in.
Trejo scored his fifth of the year 11 minutes into the second half. Rubio made a steal of a Washington defender. He sent the ball to the junior from Mendota, Calif. who dribbled in and scored from five yards out.
#10 Danny Trejo goal number 5 on the year gives the Matadors a 3-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/bnYpRYf5Fj
— CSUN Men's Soccer (@CSUNMensSoccer) September 13, 2019
The Huskies (4-1) got on the board in the with a little over 11 minutes to play. A Washington throw-in led to Lucas Meek scoring his second of the season.
The Huskies took two shot attempts in the final 10 minutes with a Ryan DeGroot effort being saved by CSUN goalie Paul Lewis at 83:07. The second was a Tyler Smith shot that went high two minutes later.
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The teams both took 11 shots and both had five on goal. Each squad took four corner kicks. The Huskies held a 57-43 advantage in possession. The match was a physical one as nine yellow cards were issued (five for CSUN, four on the Washington side).
Lewis made four saves while Logan had two.
This is the highest-ranked opponent that the Matadors have defeated since CSUN handed then No. 9 Utah Valley a 2-1 defeat Sept. 1, 2017.
At 4-0-1, the Matadors continue the program's best start since 2013 when CSUN went 7-0 to begin the year.
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ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH TERRY DAVILA
"We played one of the best teams in the nation which has one of the best coaches in the country (Jamie Clark). He has his teams prepared coming off two matches in a row against Michigan and Michigan State before playing us. It was our night. We got the first two punches. They got a little rhythm before we're able to counter-attack and capitalize on it."
UP NEXT
The Matadors host No. 13/20 UCLA (2-2) Sunday night. Kick is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed by BigWest.tv with Kevin Strauss on the call.
