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Trisha Anas

Matador forward Ashley Cruz pushes past Vandals defender Makenzie Burks during the match at the Matador Soccer Field in Northridge, Calif., on Sept. 7, 2023.

The CSUN women’s soccer team’s hunt for their first win continues after they suffered a 5-1 loss to University of Idaho Thursday evening following a two-game road trip in Seattle.

The Matadors entered the match with an 0-5-1 record, whereas the Vandals entered with a 3-1-1 record.

Idaho set the pace early with a goal 20 seconds in, when Hannah Alfaro headed the ball into the net after receiving a pass from midfield by Alyssa Peters.

Idaho would later double their lead in the 16th minute when Margo Schoesler beat goalkeeper Hayden Mauldin one-on-one for an open goal.

The Vandals then closed out the first half with another goal in the 26th minute off a throw-in that ended with Izzy Thoma shooting the ball into the net from atop the box.

CSUN, however, looked to answer back in the second half after scoring in the 48th minute of play. Midfielder Izabel Reyes swiped the ball away from the Idaho backline and shot past the goalkeeper to put CSUN on the board.

The goal marked Reyes’ first career goal for CSUN.

“I’ve been through a lot of injuries,” Reyes said. “This is my first season I can say I am fully back and healthy, so I’ve been striving to get that first goal.”

Idaho, however, would respond in the 57th minute, with Jadyn Hanks going one-on-one with Mauldin to score; Alfaro also went on to get her second goal of the game in the 67th minute.

Reyes finished the match with three shots on goal, while midfielder Brooke Mobeck also had three shot attempts. Mauldin had two saves for the Matadors, while defender Angelica Claiborne played a team-high 90 minutes for CSUN’s backline.

“First half was tough. Idaho took us off guard and we never really recovered,” head coach Christine Johnson said in an interview with the sports information department. “The start of the second half was better for us and it was great to see Izzy get a goal. We will take the next 12 hours to reflect and focus on getting better tomorrow.”

CSUN will look to change their fortunes as they prepare to defend their home turf against fourth-ranked UCLA on Sept. 10 at 4 p.m.

“Our mindset doesn’t change depending on our opponent,” Reyes said. “We know that we’re going up against a tough team, but our goal is to win every game that we play, so nothing changes.”

The Matadors will continue to look forward as conference play comes closer in spite of recent game struggles.

“I know it’s been hard for us as a team, but we just have to keep our heads up and go into conference strong, no matter the results that we have been going through before,” Reyes added.

CSUN will also host a “Matador Red Game” with fans receiving free admission for wearing a red shirt.