NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -

Needing a victory to stay alive in a wild Big West Conference postseason race the CSUN Matadors (7-9-2, 3-5-1 Big West) shutout 14th-ranked UC Irvine (12-4-2, 4-4-1 Big West) for the second time this season, knocking off the Anteaters 2-0 on Saturday night at Matador Soccer Field. A pair of second-half goals from Marino Peixoto and Sagi Lev-Ari helped the Matadors to their first home win over UCI since 2007.

"UC Irvine has a lot of talent and they are well coached," said CSUN head coach Terry Davila. "For us to play them, it is always a tight match and we have to play our best in order to get any result. They are an excellent team."

UC Irvine started the match quickly and nearly scored after just 74 seconds. Eduardo Calzada lifted a shot over CSUN goalkeeper Adam Hobbs, but the ball hit the post and was kept out. It would be the closest chance the Anteaters had in the competition as Hobbs saved the next six shots that came his way.

The Matadors forced UCI goalkeeper Michael Breslin to make three saves in the first half but did not truly test him until the second period. As the match went to halftime scoreless, the Anteaters led the shot margin 10-5 and had three corner kicks to CSUN's one.

CSUN almost found a breakthrough goal in the 61st minute when Lev-Ari volleyed a pass into the crossbar and out of danger. Pol Schonhofer Bartra continued the pressure less than a minute later but Breslin sprawled to keep it out of the net. As the ball was being cleared away, UCI defender Noah Gaines committed a foul and was shown the yellow card, giving CSUN a free kick from 23 yards away on the left side.

Peixoto stepped up to take the kick and curled his left-footed shot over the wall and into the top right corner of the goal in the 62nd minute to give the Matadors a 1-0 advantage.

"I've been working on in it practice everyday and I am fortunate that it came up this time," said Peixoto. "I need to keep working on it to make it more consistent."

Lev-Ari doubled the lead 11 minutes later when he finished off a magnificent series of events. Nicolas Camacho sent the ball up the middle of the field for David Turcios, who controlled the pass and slotted a through ball to Lev-Ari just inside the 18-yard box on the right side. The senior took a touch and fired low into the left side of the goal for his conference-leading 11th goal of the season.

Hobbs made a pair of saves in the final 18 minutes of the match, but the Anteaters failed to convert on eight chances during that time frame.

The win over UCI, coupled with a Cal State Fullerton tie against UC Riverside, sets up winner-take-all scenarios for the Big West South Division heading into Wednesday's regular-season finale. The Matadors need a victory against Cal State Fullerton to earn a spot in the conference tournament, while CSUN can also rise to as high as second in the division with a win and UCI loss to UCR.

The Matadors and Titans kickoff from Matador Soccer Field on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live online for free through BigWest.TV.

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