The skidding UC Davis men’s soccer team had hoped the beginning the Big West Conference schedule would be just what it needed to get out of a recent funk.

But Cal State Northridge had other ideas on Wednesday at Aggie Soccer Stadium.

The Matadors got a Thomas Ramos goal less than four minutes after kickoff and two second-half penalty kicks sent the Aggies to their fourth straight loss in a 3-0 decision.

A mere three minutes after kickoff, Rene Anguiano pushed the ball down the right side before sending a pass across the middle to a waiting Ramos. The CSUN sophomore controlled the ball, then buried a shot in the back of the net from six yards out to give the Matadors (4-4-2, 1-0) a 1-0 lead.

The first shot of the game for UCD (2-5-2, 0-1) came at the 17:07 mark when Lance Patterson got his head on a corner kick from Alex Henry. But the attempt was blocked by a Northridge defender and cleared out.

The Aggies were limited to only two shots in the first half.

UCD increased its offensive intensity in the second half, putting up seven shots, including Elliott Hord’s attempt less than two minutes into the period. Hord’s shot hit the goalpost, however, and was cleared out of play.

The Matadors were awarded their first penalty kick in the 67th minute, which Rafael Garcia safely converted to make it 2-0. Garcia sealed the 3-0 win for CSUN with another PK just 10 minutes later.

The Matadors outshot the Aggies by a 16-9 margin and earned 12 corner kicks to UCD’s five.

Hord led the Aggies offensively with two shots, while Garcia’s five attempts led CSUN.

UCD will try to end its losing streak and get its first Big West victory on Saturday when it hosts UC Riverside at 3 p.m.

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UCD defender Sam Del Gobbo (22) jumps to get to a ball during the Aggies’ 3-0 loss to Northridge on Wednesday at Aggie Soccer Field. Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo

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