2015 Season Recap (PDF)
WRAPPING UP A HISTORICAL 2015 SEASON
The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team wrapped up their 2015 season as the back-to-back Big West Tournament Champions, leading them to their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and hosting the first-round of the tournament for the first time in 20 years. After recording a Big West record of 6-3-1, the Titans also won the Big West South Division Title for the first time in history this season, finishing with an overall record 13-8-1 and posting the program's best record since 2000.
REGULAR SEASON REVIEW
The Titans opened up the 2015 season with their best non-conference record since 2011, posting five wins while taking on three NCAA Tournament teams in their nine game non-conference schedule. The defending Big West Champs outscored non-conference opponents 14-10 while posting four shutouts.
Seeking another Big West Championship, the Titans kicked off conference play hot, shutting out Sacramento State and UC Davis at Titan Stadium before heading to Central California for a tough trip against the top two North Division teams, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. The Titans came to their only draw of the season against the Mustangs before dropping a heart-breaker against the Gauchos 2-1 in double overtime.
Yet with the South Division title up for grabs, the Titans met up with the Anteaters in a re-match of the 2014 Big West Tournament Championship game and dominated UC Irvine, shutting them out 3-0 at Titan Stadium to kick off South Division play. The Titans later claimed their first ever Big West South Division title with strong wins over Irvine and UC Riverside to close out Big West play with a record of 6-3-1, the best conference record for the Titans since 2000.
Cal State Fullerton outscored Big West opponents 13-4 and recorded another seven shutouts, shattering the previously set single-season shutout record of nine set by Mike Ammann in 1993. With their first regular season title, the Titans earned a number 1 seed in the Big West Tournament and finished the South Division with 19 points.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON REVIEW
After earning a bye for the first round of the Big West Tournament, the Titans hosted Cal Poly in the semifinal match after tying with the Mustangs earlier in the season. The team's leading scorer this season, Diego Sanchez scored the game-winner and included one more goal for insurance as the Titans defeated Cal Poly 3-1 to advance to their second-straight Big West Tournament final.
The two number one seeds in the tournament met up in the final, leading the Titans to head north to take on UC Santa Barbara. The championship match was played in front of a crowd of 3,242 people, the largest crowd the Titans played in front of all season and stunned the Gaucho crowd when the game-winner came from defender Mitchell Bell, who scored his first goal of the season in the 52nd minute. The 2015 Big West Tournament MVP, Titan goalkeeper David Rodriguez Elias, recorded five key saves against the Gauchos in the championship match to record his 12th shutout
and give the Titans their second-straight Big West Tournament title.
After being crowned back-to-back Big West Tournament Champions, the Titans earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. Fullerton hosted Santa Clara in the first round of the tournament, giving them their first hosting bid since 1996.
After beating Santa Clara 2-1 earlier in the season, the Titans didn't have the same luck as they concluded their season with a 3-0 loss to the Broncos.
2015 QUICK HITS
• Cal State Fullerton posted its second straight double-digit win season, the first time the Titans have had back-to-back seasons since 1999 & 2000.
• Titan goalkeeper David Rodriguez Elias set a new single season record for shutouts, recording 12 this year beating the previous record set by Mike Ammann who logged nine shutouts in 1993.
• Diego Sanchez led the Titans with eight goals and three assists to total 19 points in 2015.
• The Titans finished the season as the only team in the Big West with a goals against average below 1.0, recording a 0.89 gaa in 2015.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Titans made their ninth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament since making the move to Divison I in 1975, and their second-straight appearance after losing in the first round to San Diego in 2014. Fullerton's all-time record in the 48-team tournament is 7-8-1, with its best finish coming in 1993 in the Final Four.
RETURNING WITH EXPERIENCE
Five Titan freshmen found themselves on the pitch in more than half the games this season, accumulating a ton of experience to put under their belt for the upcoming seasons. Fullerton also only lost five seniors and will return 10 players next season who started in more than 50% of the games in 2015.
2015 ALL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
RICARDO COVARRUBIAS (2nd Team)
19 games played • 1 shot
BRANDON WEST (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman)
3 goals • 4 assists • 10 points
ROBERT CORONADO (Honorable Mention)
1 goal • 4 assists • 6 points
NICOLO D'AMATO (Honorable Mention)
1 goal • 1 assist • 29 shots
RONALDO PINEDA (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman)
2 goals • 1 assist • 3 points
CARLOS TRONCOSO (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman)
1 goal • 21 games played • 12 shots
DAVID ELIAS (Honorable Mention)
Big West Tournament MVP • 0.89 goals-against-average • 12 shutouts
BIG WEST STAND OUTS
The trio of Brandon West, Zach Bryan and David Rodriguez Elias earned Big West Player of the Week honors this season, the first Titans to have earned the honors since the 2012 season when three Titans also earned the honors. The only year where more Titans earned the weekly notches was in 2003 when four Titans were given the nod.
TITANS IN THE BIG WEST
• First in the Big West in goals allowed (20), goals against average (0.89), shutouts (12).
• Second in points (87), goals (22), goals per game (1.41).
KUNTZ ERA STAYS HOT
After posting 10 wins in his inaugural season, Kuntz led the Titans to 13 wins in 2015, the largest number of wins since the Titans won 15 in 2000. Not only has he led them to back-to-back double-digit win seasons, Kuntz found himself with the Big West Tournament title for the second year in a row while also adding a piece of hardware as the South Division Champions.