2016 Schedule (Link)
2016 Schedule (PDF)
FULLERTON, Calif. – The two-time defending Big West Conference Tournament champion Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team has released its upcoming 2016 fall schedule, announced by third-year head coach George Kuntz on Wednesday.
The Titans, who notched their first ever Big West South Division title and second consecutive Big West Tournament title, made their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015 and will return home to feature seven matches in the newly renovated Titan Stadium.
"We are excited about the 2016 season as we are coming back with many returning players and our outstanding schedule," said Kuntz. "Last year our success in the Big West and reaching the NCAA Tournament was great for those who support our program yet while it was great for many, our team still has a deep hunger because of how our season ended."
The defending Big West Champions will take on five different teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
"We're hungry to get back on the field and the opponents that we will be playing are a combination of teams across the board that provide challenging and diversified types of styles of play," said Kuntz.
Fullerton will kick off its regular season on the road for their first eight games, starting on the other side of the country for their season-opener against the University of Vermont on Friday, Aug. 26th. The Titans will then travel back to Southern California on Monday, Aug. 29th and head across town to visit the No. 25 UCLA Bruins, who finished the 2015 season as one of the top five scoring teams in the nation.
The following weekend the Titans will head to Las Vegas to play in the Johann Memorial Classic, hosted by UNLV and will kick off the tournament against the Rebels on Friday, Sept. 2nd. On Sunday the Titans will have a rematch of their 2015 NCAA Tournament game as they will seek revenge against Santa Clara as they will play the Broncos for the third consecutive year.
The Titans will continue their road streak as they head down to San Diego to participate in the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Sept. 9th and 11th, playing Memphis and UTRGV, respectively.
Fullerton will round out their road trip the following weekend by heading up north to take on the University of San Francisco (Sept. 16), also for the third consecutive year, before heading to Moraga, Calif. to take on Saint Mary's on Sunday, Sept. 18th.
The Titans will finally return home to Titan Stadium for a three-game home stand, starting with their home opener against the University of the Pacific on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
The following Thursday the Titans will begin their journey to a three-peat and defending their Big West title by opening up conference play hosting Northern Division rivals Cal Poly (Sept. 29) and No. 22 UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 2).
Their Big West slate continues as the Titans take a trip up north to visit Sacramento State (Oct. 6) and UC Davis (Oct. 8) before returning to SoCal on Oct. 12 at CSUN.
Fullerton will play host to UC Riverside on Oct. 15th and cross-town rivals UC Irvine on Oct. 19th before taking a trip to Highlander territory to play UCR again on Oct. 22nd.
The Titans will return home for Senior Day against CSUN on Wednesday, Oct. 26th before finishing up regular season conference play at UC Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 29th.
The Titans will round out their regular season with a trip down to the University of San Diego on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.
The Titans will seek their 3rd consecutive Big West Tournament title beginning on Saturday, Nov. 5th with the Championship game on Nov. 12th.
Tickets for the upcoming 2016 season will go on sale at fullertontitans.com on Wednesday, July 13th at 12 p.m.
"Our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff are excited about the 2016 season and we can't wait for it to get started," said Kuntz.
Head coach George Kuntz and the Titans finished the 2015 season with the program's best record since 2000, posting an overall record of 13-8-1 while also hosting the first-round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years.
In addition to leading the Titans to their first ever South Division title and their second consecutive Big West Tournament title, Kuntz also led the Titans to their second-straight double-digit win season for the first time in over a decade. Titan goalkeeper David Rodriguez Elias earned Big West Tournament MVP honors while also setting a new single season shutout record with 12, shattering the previously set record of nine by Mike Ammann back in 1993.
Seven Titans earned All-Big West honors including Ricardo Covarrubias (2nd Team), Brandon West (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman), Ronaldo Pineda (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman), Carlos Troncoso (Honorable Mention/All-Freshman), Robert Coronado (Honorable Mention), Nicolo D'Amato (Honorable Mention) and Elias (Honorable Mention).