Box Score (PDF)
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – After being held scoreless in three-straight road matches, Cal State Fullerton ended their scoring drought on the road thanks to Alex Heilmann netting his eighth goal of the season in a draw with CSUN on Wednesday night at Matador Soccer Field.
"Our team played much better this match and showed growth and moved closer to our playing expectations," coach George Kuntz said. "It's a small step forward and in the right direction. We will continue to take one game at a time and learn from each game."
The draw moves Fullerton to 1-3-1 in Big West play and 5-8-1 overall on the year as they get ready to host Big West South Division leader UC Riverside on Saturday night at Titan Stadium.
The Titans came out early on the attack and didn't let up as Heilmann put a header on goal in the 13th minute but CSUN's goalkeeper Kevin Marquez made the save.
After a few more chances from Rei Dorwart, Michael Lopez and Heilmann, Robert Coronado set up the best chance for Fullerton in the first half as the junior put a corner right into the middle of the box that fell right in front of Heilmann.
The senior laced back his foot as he put some pace behind his shot, but the ball went right into the keeper's stomach and Marquez held on to the ball for a goal kick.
Seeing his first action in five matches, Titans midfielder Ronaldo Pineda subbed into the match in the 27th minute. The sophomore came within inches of giving his squad a 1-0 lead toward the end of the first half, but his header sailed a little too wide as it deflected off the post.
Diego Sanchez had a chance to clean up Pineda's header as the ball bounced right in front of him but his strike was blocked.
Through the first 45 minutes, the Titans were establishing dominance in the attacking half as they finished the half with 11 shots to CSUN's three and collected four shots on goal.
In the second, CSUF's first strong chance at goal came in the 58th minute as the Titans received a free kick right at the top of the box after a CSUN (5-5-3, 2-1-2) foul. Coronado lined up for the and launched a low-pacey strike but his shot was blocked by a wall of CSUN defenders and was eventually cleared out of the box to end the threat.
Five minutes later, the Titans looked to have something brewing as a quick counter led to a free Rei Dorwart down the right flank and the freshman laid a cross right to Heilmann in the center of the box and the senior did what has done all year: finish.
Heilmann took Dorwart's clinical cross and put the ball in the top left corner to give the Titans a 1-0 lead and snap their two-match scoreless streak. The goal also puts Heilmann back atop the conference in goals as he's tied for first with eight on the season.
"I don't really focus on who's leading or tied in the Big West for goals," Heilmann said. "It's a good feeling but the more important thing for me is the team winning and I hope I can continue to find the back of the net."
A couple minutes after the goal, CSUN's Papi Diouf was shown a red card by the center official, giving the Titans a one-man advantage for the remainder of the match.
With a 1-0 lead and red card shown to the Matadors, Fullerton looked to be in prime position to collect their second conference win of the year but CSUN's Bar Shem Tov put a shot past Titan GK David Elias Rodriguez to tie the score at one in the 79th minute.
In the 88th minute, the Titans had two strong chances at goal as Pineda put a low strike toward the bottom corner and Dorwart followed it with a header, but CSUN goalkeeper Marquez made two incredible saves to keep the match tied at one and force overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, Titan Ruben Alvarez almost netted the golden goal for Fullerton as the senior put some pace on a long-distance strike from the edge of the box but CSUN's Marquez batted the ball away.
The Titans looked to create something in the final minutes of the second overtime but couldn't connect and for the first time this season Fullerton ended a match with a draw.
Up next for the Titan men's soccer squad is another Big West battle as they host UC Riverside at Titan Stadium on Saturday night at 7 p.m. PT.
For more information on the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer squad, follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@CSUFMensSoccer) and like out Facebook page (Cal St. Fullerton Men's Soccer).
"We are a little bit frustrated with the result since we felt that we should have come away with three points, but we will take the point on the road and look forward to getting back on track in front of our home crowd on Saturday," Heilmann said.
NOTES: Overall, Fullerton dominated the shots and corners categories as the Titans had seven more corners than CSUN (11-4) and outshot the Matadors, 26-8. CSUF's defense put up a strong effort defensively against the Matadors as the backline only surrendered one shot in the second half, which was unfortunately the CSUN goal. Heilmann lead the team with six shots (four on goal), while Ronaldo Pineda added five shots off the bench for Fullerton. Dorwart collected his second assist of the year on Heilmann's goal and has been key in igniting the Titan attack over the past few contests.