SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer squad finished up a strong showing at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament with a 1-0 double overtime win over the University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley on Sunday at the San Diego State Sports Deck.
"Today's match was a hard-fought tactical grind it out match," coach George Kuntz said. "Although our shot ratio was 16-5, give UTRGV credit for condensing spaces and group defending. We slowly found more dangerous pockets and threatened them with a little more gas in the attacking third. Credit Alex Heilmann for scoring his sixth goal in six games and this being the game winner in death time. He's becoming a force to be dealt with and seems to continue to grow in his role. Additionally, obtaining our first clean sheet means a lot to this team and our defensive effort and organization. Overall, this was a great team effort and we are proud of the team."
With the victory, the Titans move to 3-3-0 on the year and have now won two-straight matches as they scored four consecutive goals against Memphis on Friday to defeat the Tigers, 4-1.
Fullerton's leading goal scorer, Alex Heilmann, once again carried the Titans to victory with a seven-yard strike from the middle of the box that snuck its way into the right corner. The senior now has six goals on the season and currently is the top goal scorer in the Big West.
"It was a much needed win for us and I knew we were going to win that game from the beginning," Heilmann said.
The match started off slow for Fullerton as UTRGV (2-2-1) got a couple early chances, but the Titan defense held their own as they went on to surrender only five shots and only two on goal throughout the contest.
CSUF goalkeeper Paul-Ander Guerin made a huge save for the Titans in the 82nd minute as the freshman saved a Vaquero PK to keep the match scoreless. Guerin collected his first career clean sheet tonight.
Meanwhile, the CSUF attack in the second half jumped to a whole new level with the Titans putting up eight shots in the half.
"Down the stretch, I think we came together and picked up the intensity and a well-timed combination for the goal in the box with my longtime teammate, Robert Coronado, is how it happened."
In overtime, the Titans didn't let the Vaqueros get anything going in the attacking half as they didn't allow UTRGV to get a shot off.
At the start of the second overtime, UTRGV's Ilias Kosmidis picked up his second yellow card of the match, which forced the Vaqueros to play the remainder of the match with 10 players, giving the Titans a one-man advantage.
Fullerton didn't waste any time after UTRGV was down a man as Heilmann's winner came just 30 seconds after Kosmidis was removed from the contest.
The Titans finished the match with 16 total shots, eight on goal, five corner kicks and two saves.
"I'm glad I can continue to help our team get back to its winning ways and now we look forward to keeping a winning record as we approach Big West play," Heilmann said.
With a winning streak building, the Titans head to San Francisco and St. Mary's next weekend for a pair of matches. Fullerton will face the Dons on Friday at 7 p.m. PT and then travel to battle the Gaels on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.
For more information and updates on the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team, follow us on Twitter & Instagram (@CSUFMensSoccer) and like our Facebook page (Cal St. Fullerton Men's Soccer).