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FULLERTON, Calif. – After winning the Big West Tournament Championship, the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team will travel the University of San Diego on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., to take on the Toreros in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at Torero Stadium.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 4-12 and USD students. Call the San Diego ticket office at 630) 260-7550.
Fullerton's road to the final started with a 2-1 victory over UC Davis at Aggie Soccer Field on Nov. 8, before powering through UC Riverside 3-0 in the semifinals on Wednesday at UC Riverside Soccer Field.
CSF will be making its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and its first since 2000. First-year head coach George Kuntz will be coaching in the fifth NCAA Tournament of his career, but his first with the Titans, joining Fullerton in December after spending 19 years at UC Irvine. In his time at UCI, Kuntz led his team as far as the Round of 16, most recently in 2013.
The Titans will bring a 10-7-6 record with them into the first round game against San Diego, putting together their first double-digit win season since 2001. Fullerton will also look to break two school records as the Titans are tied for most shutouts in a single season (9) and most goals in a single season (33) with past Titan teams.
CSF and USD played earlier this season to a 0-0 draw at Torero Stadium on Sep. 1. Jeff Salt made a game-high eight saves for the Titans who were forced into playing a man down the final 40 minutes of the match.
Marc Fenelus, a Big West All-Second Team selection will lead the Titan offense into Torero Stadium on Thursday with his team-leading seven goals on the season as will fellow Big West All-Second Team pick Ian Ramos with his four assists that lead the Titans.
USD will host the first round matchup after finishing first in the West Coast Conference with a 10-5-4 overall record and 6-1-0 in the WCC. The Toreros are led by Conner Brandt and Torrey DeArmas, who have each found the back of the net seven times this season, with Brandt adding six assists for a total of 20 points.
Thursday's first round matchup between Fullerton and San Diego will be the fourth time these two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament with Fullerton holding a 2-1 series lead in those games (1998, 1994, 1993). The last time the Titans made it to the 48-team tournament was in 2000 when they lost at Stanford 4-0.
The field is made up of the champions of 24 conferences, who qualified automatically in addition to 24 teams that were selected at-large. All first-round games will be played Thursday, while all second-round action will take place Sunday. The third round will be played Sunday, Nov. 30, while the quarterfinals will be played Friday, Dec. 5 or Saturday, Dec. 6.
The Men's College Cup will be held Friday, Dec. 12 and Sunday, Dec. 14 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
