A new school will enter the circle of champions when the Big West Men's Soccer Tournament title match is contested Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on FOX Prime Ticket, FOX San Diego and FOX College Sports.
Cal State Northridge (14-6-0, 7-3-0) and UC Davis (10-6-4, 7-3-0) have never had the opportunity to play in the championship match – until now. The two division champions meet for the right to claim the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship as a sellout crowd is expected for the showdown at Aggie Soccer Field.
The Matadors, the top-seeded team from the South Division, defeated the North Division No. 1 seed Aggies in the Big West opener for both teams on Sept. 28 in Northridge. CSUN struck twice in the opening 15 minutes with goals from David Turcios and Edwin Rivas, handing the Aggies their third straight loss.
However, the Aggies rebounded to win seven of their next nine conference games to take the North Division crown with a 7-3 record. A 2-0 win over Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals, the first Big West Tournament win in program history, propelled Dwayne Shaffer's bunch into the final. The Aggies seek their first Big West championship of any kind – regular season or otherwise.
Hardware has been previously displayed in the CSUN camp. The Matadors won their first Big West regular season crown in 2003 and did so again in 2005, four years before the inaugural men's soccer tournament.
The Matadors have enjoyed one of the best seasons during the Terry Davila era, who is in his 14th year as the head coach. The 14 wins ties the 2002 and 2003 squads for the second-most total, one shy of the 15 that the 2005 champions generated.
CSUN boasts a high-powered offense that leads the Big West in goals (39), assists (43) and points (121). Sophomore forward Sagi Lev-Ari is the conference's leading scorer with 13 goals (including six game-winners) and 26 points, while junior midfielder Carlos Benavides is the Big West's top assist man with 10. Sophomore forward Edwin Rivas ranks third in the conference with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. Lev-Ari, Rivas and junior forward Beto Velasquez – who has eight goals – have combined for 29 of CSUN's 39 goals on the year.
And by the way, the Matadors aren't a terrible defensive squad. In fact, they actually lead the Big West in goals against average (0.89) and shutouts (9). Senior Michael Abalos, the 2012 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, sports a 0.94 GAA and .760 save percentage.
The Aggies, 10-game winners for the first time since 2008, have found success primarily through a stingy defense. Since the 2-0 setback to Northridge in the Big West opener, UC Davis allowed a mere seven goals in its next 10 contests, and no more than one goal in any of them. The Aggies have allowed just 19 goals through 20 games, only one more than the Matadors have yielded.
UCD is seventh in the Big West in goals (23), assists (18) and points (64). Four different players share the team lead in goals with three apiece. Despite not being an offensive juggernaut, the Aggies have developed a reputation for being clutch. In six of their last seven wins, the Aggies have notched the game-winning goal in the second half or later.
Junior goalkeeper Omar Zeenni, a second team all-conference selection, anchors the Aggie net with a 0.90 goals against average and 67 saves.
Big West Tournament championship games typically have been high scoring. The winning side has scored four, four, three and three goals in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Looking at these two squads, that trend could change come Saturday.