Sept. 5, 2012

LIVE BLOG

No. 22 TENNESSEE (5-0) at CS NORTHRIDGE (3-1-1)

Sept. 7, 2012 | 10 p.m. ET

Matador Soccer Field | Northridge, Calif.

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THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATCH

Friday's match at Cal State Northridge will mark the first-ever meeting between the Lady Vols and the Matadors. Tennessee is 1-1 all-time against the Big West. Both games were against UC Santa Barbara and the last match was a 2-1 loss to the Gauchos on Sept. 14, 2008. UT has never defeated a Big West team on the road.
Assistant coach Joe Mallia is familiar with Cal State Northridge as he faced the Matadors three times during his time as the head coach of Loyola Marymount (2007-11). Mallia, who owned the best win percentage of any coach in LMU history, went 1-2 against Northridge, including a 3-0 defeat to the Matadors on Sept. 23, 2011.

The Tennessee defense continues to dominate. The UT defense has been stout, setting program bests for its opening five games with four shutouts and just one goal allowed over its first. The last time an opponent scored on the Lady Vols was 6:33 into their 4-1 win at Western Kentucky on Aug. 19, 2012. No goals have been scored against the UT defense in the last 259:59 of play.
The Lady Vols' versatility on offense has also played a major role it the team's 5-0 start. UT has scored 14 goals from eight different players. Four different players have netted match-winners.

SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

Cal State Northridge is 3-1-1 and coming off a 1-0 home win over Michigan on Aug. 30.
The Matadors have played strong defense so far this season, averaging just 0.60 goals allowed per game. However, opposing teams have been certainly had their chances. Opponents are averaging 15.2 shots per game to CSUN's 16.0 and 3.8 corners to the Matador's 3.0.
In 2011, Cal State Northridge went 7-10-2 and finished third in the Big West.
The Matadors returned 19 letterwinners from its 2011 squad, including Big West honorees Cyntha Jacobo, Melissa Fernandez and Katie Russ.