FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton seniors Alex Heilmann and Nicolo D'Amato each netted a goal to give the Titans their first home win of the season as Fullerton defeated Cal Poly, 2-1, on Thursday night at Titan Stadium.
"We changed a little bit of our structure and we talked a little bit about playing better defensively," coach George Kuntz said. "I changed a couple things in the midfield and I think it worked out for us. We were able to cut more channels than we were able to in the last game and that was big for me. The attitude was good, the work ethic was good and to get a 2-0 lead against this team is tough and I thought it was a good win for us."
With the victory, the Titans start conference play at 1-0 and move back to .500 on the year with an overall record of 5-5-0. The win also gives Fullerton its third-straight victory over the Mustangs (2-5-1) at Titan Stadium.
The match got off to a slow start as both teams sort of felt each other out in the first 20 minutes. Fullerton had a few strong chances at goal early with Diego Sanchez putting up a nice shot from distance that sailed just high of the post.
In the 28th minute, the Titans were looking for a spark to get the attack going and brought in Big West leading goal scorer Heilmann off the bench.
After checking in, D'Amato struck a corner kick right into the center of the box and Heilmann did the rest as the senior headed the ball right into the net to give Fullerton a 1-0 edge and collect his seventh goal of the season.
"I feel like from the start we come out buzzing and after the first goal our adrenaline picked up and we had them on their heels and kept wanting to push for another one because we felt the crowd and the energy," Heilmann said.
The La Habra native wasn't done as just seconds later he had another header that was on goal, but Cal Poly goalkeeper Eric Kam made the save to keep the match at 1-0 going into the break.
With the lead at one, the Titans looked to give themselves some breathing room as a foul near the box gave Fullerton a great opportunity to add some cushion.
From 20-yards out, D'Amato lined up for the free kick and connected as the ball shot into the goal to put the Titans up 2-0 in the 51st minute. The goal was the senior's second of the season.
Now trailing 2-0, Cal Poly looked to answer back and they would as Kody Wakasa cleaned up a nice corner placed in the box from Joseph Bolous to cut the Fullerton lead to 2-1 with 13 minutes to play.
In the final minutes, the Mustangs made a strong effort to get the equalizer but the Titan defense held on for the 2-1 victory.
Up next for Cal State Fullerton is a matchup with Big West foe UC Santa Barbara at Titan Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. This will be the first meeting between the two programs since the Titans defeated the Gauchos in the Big West Tournament title match, 1-0, at UCSB.
"I've seen Santa Barbara play and they are a good team," coach Kuntz said. "They've competed with all the teams that we've played and they've competed with them very successfully. We'll have a good strategy going in."
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