Weekly Release (PDF)
THIS WEEK
Titan Stadium welcomes back Big West Conference action Wednesday as the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team hosts co-South Divsion leader UC Irvine at 7:00 p.m. The Titans will remain home at Titan Stadium for the weekend to take on UC Riverside, for the second time in two weeks, Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
QUICK HITS
• Cal State Fullerton head coach George Kuntz is in his first year with the Titans after spending 19 years at UC Irvine.
• In Cal State Fullerton's first win of the year, and its first win of the George Kuntz era at CSF, the Titans staged a 4-3 come-from-behind double overtime victory over then 14th-ranked Maryland, Baltimore County.
• Fullerton has totaled 25 goals this season, two more than last season's total, coming from 10 different players.
• Titan head coach George Kuntz will get another shot at beating his former team at Titan Stadium, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The two teams met on Oct. 18 with UC Irvine defeating Fullerton 1-0 at Anteater Stadium.
• For the second time in as many weeks, Fullerton and UC Riverside will be facing off against each other, but this time at Titan Stadium where Fullerton is 5-1-0 on the season.
• Fullerton continues its chase for the school record for most shutouts in a single season. The shutout of CSUN last Wednesday marked number seven on the season for the Titans, the record was set by the 1993 squad who finished with nine.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Cal State Fullerton fans can follow the action as the Titans take on the Anteaters, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., and UC Riverside, Saturday at 7:00 p.m., by logging on to FullertonTitans.com
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OPPONENT & HISTORY
#14 UC Irvine | 7:00 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 29 | Titan Stadium
A red-hot season was brought to a halt for the Anteaters as UCI entered last week with a record of 11-1-2 and exited 11-3-2. UCI dropped valuable points that allowed Fullerton to earn four points to become even at the top of the Big West South Division standings.
The No.3 ranking was the second time this season that the Anteaters had hit that mark in the National Soccer Coaches of America Association poll, tying the mark they set earlier this season for highest in school history.
The Anteaters had two streaks come to an end in last Saturday's loss to CSUN, 11 straight home wins, and 800 minutes of not giving up a goal at home.
Edwardo Calzada has become the man to watch out for on the Anteater roster, leading the team with seven total goals.
Head-to-Head: The Anteaters extended their lead in this all-time series with the win on Oct. 18, Fullerton now has a 19-23-7 record against UC Irvine.
Last Time Out: The Titans suffered a 1-0 loss to No. 7 UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium on Oct. 18, as UCI's Bryan Breslin scored the game winner in the 72 minute, converting a volley courtesy of Gor Kirakosyan's corner kick.
UC Riverside | 7:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 1 | Titan Stadium
The Highlanders started off the past week with a stunning defeat of third-ranked UC Irvine, 2-1 last Wednesday. The three points would come in handy after playing Fullerton to a 1-1 double-overtime draw last Saturday night, as the Highlanders hold a one-point lead on CSUN in the Big West South Division standings.
UCR still has three division games left to attempt to close the two-point gap between themselves and the leaders of the Big West South Division, Fullerton and UC Irvine.
Michael Salazar is the man the Fullerton defense should watch for on the Highlander roster, he has a team-leading five goals on the season.
Head-to-Head: Fullerton could not extend its all-time series lead on UC Riverside last time out, as the record stands at 15-10-5.
Last Time Out: Cal State Fullerton earned a hard fought 1-1 double-overtime draw against UC Riverside at UC Riverside Soccer Stadium last Saturday, as the teams traded goals in the first half, Michael Salazar scoring for the Highlanders and Amara Soumah for the Titans.
BE A FOLLOWER
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics) and Twitter (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's soccer team has established its own Facebook and Twitter presence at Facebook.com/CSUFMensSoccer or at @CSUFMensSoccer.
FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE
Coming into the game on Wednesday night at Titan Stadium, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton are tied at the top of the Big West South Division standings. Barring a draw, we will have a team in sole possession of first place in the South Division with two games left in the season.
THANK YOU SENIORS
A total of 12 Titan student-athletes will be playing their last regular season home game at Titan Stadium on Saturday night against UC Riverside. This year's senior class includes: (MF) Alex Cannas, (F) Marc Fenelus, (MF) Ritchie Gonzalez, (MF) Spencer Johnson, (MF) Garrett Losee, (D) Gabriel Quintero, (MF) Ian Ramos, (F) Amara Soumah, (MF) Mark Vasquez, (D) Jesse Vega, (D) Fermin Villalba, and (MF) Jordan Wolff.
QUALITY NOT QUANTITY
There have been four games this season where the Titans have amassed over 21 total shots in a game. Suprisingly, its record in those games is 1-2-1, with the one win coming on a 30-shot outburst against Pacific on Oct. 13.
BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
The 2014 season has not gone as the Big West experts had foreseen. CSUN was picked to top the South Division in the preseason poll, but is currently in last place with seven points. Fullerton, who was picked to finish last, currently has 10 points, tied for first alongside UC Irvine with three games left to play.
DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE
The Titans have now shut out seven of their 17 opponents on the year, leading the Big West in that category. The shutout of CSUN last Wednesday moved the 2014 Titan team into a tie for second place in the Fullerton school record book. Keepers David Rodriguez Elias and Jeff Salt have shared the workload in those games, Salt earning five shutouts and Rodriguez Elias netting two. The 2014 Titans are chasing the 1993 Titans who totaled nine shutouts in that year.
WEARING OUT THE CORNER
Cal State Fullerton prides itself on a possession oriented attacking style that leads to not only a lot of assists, but corner kicks as well. The Titans must be doing something right because they lead all Big West Conference teams in corner kicks on the season, earning a total of 104. The closest team to Fullerton in the Big West is UC Irvine with 93.
PREVIOUS BUFFALO WILD WINGS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:
Sept. 22 - Sophomore defender Mitchell Bell scored the first goal of his Titan career leading Cal State Fullerton to a 1-0 shutout over Grand Canyon on Sept. 28. Bell's header, courtesy of a Robert Coronado cross, proved to be the game-winner in just the third minute as the defender went on to limit the Lopes to just three shots on goal.
Sept. 15 - Senior Garrett Losee scored two goals for the Titans during the Sept. 19 and 21 weekend home stand against Santa Clara and Nebraska-Omaha, both goals became game-winners. He still leads the team in goals (3) through eleven games.
Sept. 8 - Senior forward Marc Fenelus was the first Titan in any sport to earn the award. Fenelus scored two goals at the UNLV Nike Invitational, Sept. 12-14, including the game winner in Sunday's 4-3 upset of 14th-ranked UMBC, to earn the first Buffalo Wild Wings of Brea Student-Athlete of the Week honors.
ON THE BOARD EARLY
Mitchell Bell's goal in the third minute of play Sept. 28 against Grand Canyon not only ended up being the game-winner, but Bell's goal is the earliest goal the Titans have scored all season.
COMING ON STRONG
After starting the 2014 season with a disappointing 0-3-2 record, the Titans have come on recently to win 8-of-12 games to push their overall record to 8-6-3, and 3-3-1 in Big West play. Fullerton is currently tied for first place in the Big West South Division with Wednesday's opponent UC Irvine.
STATS
• Cal State Fullerton leads the league in corner kicks (104), total shots (258) and tied for first in shutouts (7) and total assists (25).
• The Titans are second in the league with 256 fouls.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Cal State Fullerton senior Ian Ramos was selected to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team as chosen by the league's coaches, it was announced on Aug. 21, 2014.
A native of Highland, Utah, Ramos is a two-time all-Big West honoree earning honorable mention accolades in 2013 after picking up first team honors in 2012.
NUMBERS GAME
• The Titans have 17 returning letterwinners and nine returning starters from last year's team, and have added 14 newcomers. Of the newcomers, five are transfers, three come from the junior college ranks and six are freshmen.
• Fullerton scored 23 goals and added 22 assists for 68 points in 2013, and six of the team's top scorers return in Ian Ramos (4 goals, 3 assists), Garrett Losee (3 goals, 1 assist), Amara Soumah (3 goals), Marc Fenelus (2 goals, 2 assists), Spencer Johnson (1 goal, 1 assist) and Alex Cannas (2 goals, 1 assists). In fact, the Titans return 97 percent of their scoring from a season ago.
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK
Cal State Fullerton has been whistled for four fouls resulting in penalty kicks for opponents this season. Junior goalkeeper Jeff Salt has stopped 2-of-4 opponent PK attempts. The transfer from CSUSB made his first stop at San Diego on Sept. 1, and on Sept. 5 against San Francisco, made a save in the 24th minute as the game was tied 1-1.
KUNTZ ERA BEGINS
George Kuntz, a 26-year head coaching veteran, was appointed the eighth men's soccer head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on Dec. 16, 2013.
Kuntz joined Cal State Fullerton after serving 19 years as the men's head soccer coach at UC Irvine, turning the Anteaters into a perennial soccer power that have made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last six years, winning four Big West Tournament championships (2008, 2009,2011, 2013) and three regular season titles (2008, 2010, 2011).Kuntz, a collegiate head coach no entering his 27th year was named the NSCAA/Adidas Far West Region Coach of the Year in (2006 and 2008) and has seen a number of players jump to the next level including 12 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and three on various U.S. National Teams.
His career record is 319-218-65, ranking second in Big West history with 141 victories as a member of the Big West Conference. In addition, his 62 Big West wins ranks third all-time.
INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Marc Fenelus competed in the 2014 Caribbean Cup for the Turks and Caicos Islands national team. Turks and Caicos suffered a 1-0 loss to Aruba and a 6-0 loss to French Guiana before the team's final match. In the 31st minute in a match against British Virgin Islands, Fenelus scored the team's first goal since 2008 as the team went on to a 2-0 victory.
HALL OF FAME
The most prolific scorer in the history of the men's soccer program, forward Mike Fox remains the "gold standard" when it comes to the Cal State Fullerton record books, embarking on an 11-year professional career following a standout four seasons with the Titans. He was inducted into the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 11, 2013.