Lazarus Goal Lifts CSUN, 1-0

Steve Lazarus seems to have found his comfort zone.

Lazarus was recently moved from forward to midfield for the Cal State Northridge soccer team and the results have been overwhelmingly positive both for the Matadors and the senior from Saugus.

Saturday night at North Campus Stadium, Lazarus converted a left-footed shot into the the lower right corner of the goal from 13 yards, giving Northridge a 1-0 win over The Master’s College.

It was the second night in a row that Lazarus had scored a key goal for Northridge (4-4). Friday night, he scored the second goal in the Matadors’ 2-0 win over Sacramento State, which is ranked third in Division II.

Last season Lazarus was a sweeper for the Matadors, who finished second in Division II behind Southern Connecticut. Northridge Coach Marwan Ass’ad had moved Lazarus to forward this year to help fill the void left by the departure of All-American Joey Kirk, who scored a school-record 30 goals last season.

Lazarus said he feels more comfortable without the burden of scoring that the forward position demands.

“The big advantage of playing where I am now is that I get to face the field of play,” said Lazarus, who has 3 goals this season. “I get to see who’s coming and where they’re coming from.”

Against The Master’s (2-7) Lazarus scored 5 minutes, 24 seconds into the second half.

“I thought I was wider than I was, but when I saw I had a low-post angle, I pushed the ball to the side and took the shot,” Lazarus said. “I didn’t see it go in because I got leveled, but I heard the cheers from the crowd as I was getting up.”

The loss ended Master’s two-match win streak, but Mustang Coach Mark Schubert was pleased with his team’s effort.

“This is the best we’ve played this season,” said Schubert, whose team plays Fresno Pacific on Tuesday.

The Matadors also are playing their best soccer of the season. And it couldn’t be happening at a better time.

On Wednesday, Northridge plays the first of four consecutive road matches--against Division I Cal State Los Angeles, perennial NAIA power Westmont, NCAA Division I runner-up San Diego State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.