Weekly Release (PDF)
THIS WEEK
After winning the Big West Tournament in dramatic fashion Saturday night, the Titans will move on to the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2000 season. The Titans captured their first Big West Conference Tournament championship after going 110 scoreless minutes with UC Irvine and winning the penalty kick shootout 3-2. Fullerton moves on to face San Diego at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday at Torero Stadium.
QUICK HITS
• The Titans are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000 when they lost to Stanford 4-0 in the first round.
• The three goals scored against UC Riverside on Wednesday gave the Titans 33 goals this season, tying the 2001 team for the the highest season output.
• Cal State Fullerton head coach George Kuntz is now 10-1-1 all-time in the Big West Tournament, including 8-1 in his time at UC Irvine, and 2-0-1 with the Titans. Fullerton's Big West Tournament championship is the first in school history, but Kuntz's fifth after winning four at UC Irvine.
• The Titans have come out on top three very different ways this postseason, scoring two goals in the last five minutes to win 2-1 in the first round against UC Davis, shutting out UC Riverside 3-0 in the semifinals, and going scoreless through 110 minutes and winning a title by way of a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks in the final against UC Irvine.
• CSF has put pressure on defenses lately, drawing red cards against the opposition in four of the last six contests.
• Fullerton continues its chase for the school record for most shutouts in a season. The shutout of UC Irvine Saturday marked number nine on the season for the Titans, tying them with the 1993 Final Four squad for most shutouts in a single year.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Cal State Fullerton fans can follow the action as the Titans take on the Toreros in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Thursday at 7:00 p.m., at Torero Stadium by logging on to FullertonTitans.com
Live Stats.......FullertonTitans.com
Live Video......FullertonTitans.com
OPPONENT & HISTORY
San Diego | 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 20 | Torero Stadium
USD will host Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after finishing first in the West Coast Conference with a 10-5-4 overall record and going 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.
Torero goalkeeper Thomas Olson has posted a goals against average of 0.82 this season, including six shutouts, leading to a 9-5-4 record.
Head-to-Head: The Toreros lead the all-time series 12-10-4 against Fullerton.
Last Time Out: Titan goalkeeper Jeff Salt made a game-high eight saves – including a penalty kick stop in the 47th minute – as Cal State Fullerton and San Diego played to a 0-0 tie at Torero Stadium on Sept. 1, 2014.
Fullerton also had to play the final 40 minutes of the match a man down after senior midfielder Mark Vasquez received a red card in the 70th minute.
BE A FOLLOWER
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/FullertonTitans) and Twitter (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's soccer team has established its own Facebook (Facebook.com/CSUFMensSoccer), Twitter (@CSUFMensSoccer) and Instagram (csufmenssoccer).
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Titans will be making their eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament since making the move to Divison I in 1975. Fullerton's all-time record in the 48-team tournament is 7-6-1, with its best finish coming in 1993 in the Final Four.
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM
First-year Titan head coach George Kuntz joined Fullerton in December of 2013 after spending 19 years at UC Irvine. In the first two meetings this season, the Anteaters got the best of the Titans with two 1-0 victories. But it was the Titans with the last laugh, as they won the Big West title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on penalty kicks on Saturday night at Anteater Stadium.
FAMILIAR MATCHUP
Thursday's first round matchup between Fullerton and San Diego will be the fourth time these two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament (1998,1994,1993) with Fullerton holding a 2-1 series lead. The Titans and the Toreros have already met this season, playing to a 0-0 double-overtime draw on Sept. 1 at Torero Stadium.
2014 ALL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Marc Fenelus and Ian Ramos garnered second team all-conference selections while Garrett Losee, Colin Okirie, Gabriel Quintero and Jeff Salt all earned all-conference honorable mention selections. See the rest of the all conference teams here.
QUALITY NOT QUANTITY
There have been five games this season where the Titans have amassed over 21 total shots in a game. Suprisingly, their record in those games is 1-2-2, with the one win coming on a 30-shot outburst against Pacific on Oct. 13. In games where the Titans take less than 20 shots their record is 8-5-4 overall.
TITANS RAISE THE CUP
Fullerton, who was picked to finish last in the South Division preseason Big West poll, has now earned its way into the NCAA Tournament after winning a dramatic penalty kick shootout against UC Irvine on Saturday night at Anteater Stadium. Fullerton's road to the final started with a 2-1 win at UC Davis on Nov. 8, before powering through UC Riverside in the semifinal on Wednesday with two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game and one in the second half to earn the 3-0 victory.
SHUT 'EM OUT
The Titans have now shut out nine of their 23 opponents on the year, leading the Big West in that category. The shutout of UC Irvine Saturday moved the 2014 Titan team into a tie for first place in the Fullerton record book with the 1993 Final Four team. Keepers David Rodriguez Elias and Jeff Salt have shared the workload in those games, Salt earning seven shutouts and Rodriguez Elias netting two.
OFFENSIVE POWER
The goals by Ian Ramos, Marc Fenelus and Diego Sanchez in the semifinal win at UC Riverside pushed the season total to 33 for the Titans, the most for a Fullerton team since the 2001 squad also put 33 in the back of the net.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Of the 11 Titans that have scored a goal this year, six of them are seniors playing their last season in a Titan uniform. In fact, the goals scored by seniors Marc Fenelus (7 goals), Amara Soumah (5), Garrett Losee (4), Ian Ramos (4), and Mark Vasquez (1) this year have accounted for 21 of the 33 goals on the year. This means the senior class has scored 65 percent of the goals for the Titans in 2014.
BUFFALO WILD WINGS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:
JEFF SALT
Junior goalkeeper Jeff Salt was named the MVP of the Big West Tournament after posting back-to-back shutouts in the semifinal and final games, propelling the Titans to their first conference tournament championship. Last week began with a 3-0 victory at UC Riverside in the semifinal game on Wednesday and ended with a scoreless duel in the championship game on Saturday. Salt made four saves and held UC Irvine scoreless for 110 minutes in regulation and overtime and then made three saves in the penalty kick shootout to send the Titans to their eighth overall NCAA tournament appearance.
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.
LATE GAME HEROICS
In the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament, Nigel Patterson found a way to toe-poke a loose ball into the net to give the Titans a 2-1 lead over UC Davis with only 8.9 seconds left to play. Patterson's goal was the latest goal the Titans have scored all year and advanced them past the Aggies and into the semifinals against UC Riverside.
STARTING FAST
The Titans have a perfect record holding on to halftime leads this year going 7-0. However, their record drops to 3-7-6 when they are even or trailing going into the final 45 minutes. Fullerton has gone to overtime nine times this seaon, only winning the game outright on one occasion leading to a 1-2-6 overtime record this season.
STATS
• Cal State Fullerton leads the league in corner kicks (135), total shots (357) and total assists (33), and is tied for first in season goals (33).
• The Titans are also first in the league with 361 fouls and shutout's (9).
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.
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 six fouls resulting in penalty kicks for opponents this season. Junior goalkeeper Jeff Salt has stopped 4-of-6 opponent PK attempts. The transfer from Cal State San Bernardino also earned the Big West Tournament MVP award after his performance in the championship game against UC Irvine on Saturday, stopping three out of five Anteater attempts. Combined this season, Salt has blocked 7-of-11 penalty kicks.
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.
