California Golden Bears Athletics
Sunday, September 1
Northridge, CA
7:00 PM
California
2-2-0, 0-0-0
1
at
0
CSUN
1-1-1, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| CSUN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Justin Knighton (No. 7) celebrates his goal with Isaiah Thomas (No. 25), Alfredo Ortiz (No. 19) and Kieran Bracken Serra (No. 11).
Photo by: Greg Fiore/KLC Fotos
Knighton Nets Winner At CSUN
9/1/2024 9:50 PM | Men's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE – Justin Knighton had a 19th birthday to remember.
The sophomore scored the game-winning goal – and his first collegiate goal – while Marco Brougher made four saves to earn the shutout in a 1-0 Cal men's soccer victory Sunday night at Cal State Northridge.
The Golden Bears evened their record at 2-2-0. CSUN is 1-1-1.
In a relatively balanced opening stanza, the Matadors outshot Cal 7-2, but neither team put a shot on goal, resulting in a 0-0 deadlock at halftime.
The second half saw numerous chances by both sides. Between the 50th and 67th minutes alone, CSUN produced six shots and forced Brougher to make two saves, while Cal put all four of its shots on goal during that span, with Merrick Cook saving two shots by Israel Cortez and stopping two shots by Malcolm Zalayet.
At 73:35, Zalayet and Adrian Guzman combined to set up Knighton for the goal. The midfielder fought off a defender to collect the ball with his back to goal at the top of the box. He turned and juked to make two defenders move right, switched the ball to his left foot as Cook moved closer to his far right post, and then Knighton blasted the ball inside the other post.
"It felt amazing, with my friends and family in the stands," said Knighton, who hails from Torrance, about 45 minutes from Northridge. "It was electric. This was by far the best birthday present!"
Brougher made two more clutch saves – on shots by Arturo Reveles in the 87th minute and Siddiq Lezzar in the 90th minute – to preserve the win.
"For us to grind out a win against a very good Cal State Northridge team, I couldn't be prouder of the group," Cal head coach Leonard Grifin said. "For Justin to get that goal on his birthday, too – it couldn't have been scripted better than that. I'm super happy for him. And for Marco to get the shutout was huge."
The Bears next play their first ACC game when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face N.C. State on Thursday, with the game televised on the ACC Network.
STAY POSTED
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc/).
The sophomore scored the game-winning goal – and his first collegiate goal – while Marco Brougher made four saves to earn the shutout in a 1-0 Cal men's soccer victory Sunday night at Cal State Northridge.
The Golden Bears evened their record at 2-2-0. CSUN is 1-1-1.
In a relatively balanced opening stanza, the Matadors outshot Cal 7-2, but neither team put a shot on goal, resulting in a 0-0 deadlock at halftime.
The second half saw numerous chances by both sides. Between the 50th and 67th minutes alone, CSUN produced six shots and forced Brougher to make two saves, while Cal put all four of its shots on goal during that span, with Merrick Cook saving two shots by Israel Cortez and stopping two shots by Malcolm Zalayet.
At 73:35, Zalayet and Adrian Guzman combined to set up Knighton for the goal. The midfielder fought off a defender to collect the ball with his back to goal at the top of the box. He turned and juked to make two defenders move right, switched the ball to his left foot as Cook moved closer to his far right post, and then Knighton blasted the ball inside the other post.
"It felt amazing, with my friends and family in the stands," said Knighton, who hails from Torrance, about 45 minutes from Northridge. "It was electric. This was by far the best birthday present!"
Brougher made two more clutch saves – on shots by Arturo Reveles in the 87th minute and Siddiq Lezzar in the 90th minute – to preserve the win.
"For us to grind out a win against a very good Cal State Northridge team, I couldn't be prouder of the group," Cal head coach Leonard Grifin said. "For Justin to get that goal on his birthday, too – it couldn't have been scripted better than that. I'm super happy for him. And for Marco to get the shutout was huge."
The Bears next play their first ACC game when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face N.C. State on Thursday, with the game televised on the ACC Network.
STAY POSTED
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc/).
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M/F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
F/M
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
CAL
CSUN
Goals
1
0
Shots
11
18
Shots on Goal
5
5
Saves
4
4
Corners
1
3
Fouls
13
7
Scoring Plays
Justin Knighton (1)
Assisted By: Adrian Guzman , Malcolm Zalayet
27 kicks ahead to 15, pass ahead to 7 near top of box, a turn and finishes past his defender who fell down.
73:35
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
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