Cal State Fullerton at San Diego
Wednesday, Nov. 2 | 7 P.M. PT
Torero Stadium | San Diego, CA
Live Stats: usdtoreros.com
Live Stream: usdtoreros.com
Series: USD leads 10-13-4
UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Nov. 5 | 7 P.M. PT
Titan Stadium | Fullerton, CA
Live Stats: fullertontitans.com
Live Stream: fullertontitans.com
Series: CSUF leads 9-8-3
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer heads down South to battle San Diego in a non-conference finale to end the regular season before hosting UC Davis in the first round of the Big West Men's Soccer Tournament at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday at Titan Stadium.
Tickets to Saturday's first round match can be purchased here.
RUNDOWN at San Diego:
-With a spot in the Big West Men's Soccer Tournament already finalized, the Titans close out regular season play with a non-conference matchup against San Diego at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday at Torero Stadium.
-Overall, both programs will be meeting for the 27th time in school history. The Toreros currently lead the all-time series (10-13-4) and defeated Fullerton in their last match which was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014. Ian Ramos gave the Titans an early 1-0 lead with his fifth goal of the year in the 13th minute. However, San Diego netted the equalizer in the 89th minute to tie the score at one and went on to beat Fullerton in double overtime thanks an unassisted goal from Dave Musambi.
-The Toreros started conference play with two-straight wins over Loyola Marymount and St. Mary's, but they've dropped their last three matches with losses against Pacific, Gonzaga and Portland. San Diego is 1-2-2 this season against Big West teams.
RUNDOWN vs. UC Davis:
-For the second consecutive year, Cal State Fullerton will host a Big West Men's Soccer Tournament match at Titan Stadium as the Titans battle UC Davis on Saturday in the first round of the conference tournament at 7 p.m. PT.
-In the only meeting this season, UC Davis jumped on top of Fullerton early with a goal in the 22nd minute, but sealed the victory ultimately in 72nd minute with two goals in 30 seconds to beat the Titans at Aggie Soccer Field, 3-0. The last meeting at Titan Stadium was a thriller as Nigel Patterson scored his first goal of the year in the 88th minute to defeat the Aggies in regulation, 1-0, in 2015.
-Coming into the tournament as the three seed from the North, UC Davis has dropped three of its past five matches but enters the postseason with an impressive 1-0 win at UC Santa Barbara to conclude the regular season. The Aggies are 2-1-1 against non-conference opponents whom the Titans have also matched against this year. UC Davis is also 2-2 vs. the entire Big West South Division with wins over CSUF & UC Irvine.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
-CSUF's Corentin Ohlmann (D, Jr.): A week after scoring his first career goal, Corentin Ohlmann added his second of the year in a draw against CSUN at Titan Stadium last Wednesday. The junior also continues to hold down the backline for Fullerton.
-CSUF's Ruben Alvarez (MF, Sr.): Ruben Alvarez scored his first goal of the season at UC Irvine last Saturday. The senior midfielder equalized the match for the Titans in the 25th minute and helped them earn a road point.
HONORING OUR SENIORS
The Titans honored the 2016 senior class with a ceremony prior to the start of their final regular season home match against CSUN last Wednesday. Each senior was saluted one final time at midfield of Titan Stadium with their families. This year's senior class includes Sean Bieker (GK), David Elias (GK), Alex Heilmann (F), Oscar Torres (MF), Ruben Alvarez (MF), Jacob Perez (F), Mitchell Bell (D) and Ricardo Covarrubias (D). Goalkeepers Bieker and Elias have been crucial to the amazing Titan defense the last few seasons. Torres and Alvarez each have had significant playing time this year in the midfield and have made the most of it with some stellar passing. Alvarez netted his first goal of the year at UCI last Saturday to earn the Titans a road point. Perez has done well in coming off the bench and creating strong chances at forward. Bell and Covarrubias have been everything you can ask out of a defender by making the right tackle and working hard every single day. It will be hard to say goodbye to this year's group but one this is certain: they will always be Titans.
PROVIDING A SPARK
Over the last few matches, underclassmen Jacob Perez, Rei Dorwart, Michael Lopez and Ronaldo Pineda have proven to be a huge spark both in the lineup and off the bench. Perez scored his first career goal as a Titan against UC Riverside on Oct. 15, which proved to be the winner. Dorwart has been unbelievable in since getting his first dose of college soccer back on Sept. 18 against St. Mary's. In the month of October, the freshman has produced two assists in crucial moments as he assisted on Ross McPhie's goal to tie the score vs. UCSB at home and Alex Heilmann's goal against CSUN to give the Titans a late lead in the match. Pineda has been a big part of the Fullerton attack this season as the sophomore currently leads the Titans in shots taken with 39 and has netted two goals this season. Finally, Lopez has started the last 10 matches for the Titans and has been defending well with the rest of the Fullerton backline who have four shutouts so far this season and have helped goalkeeper David Elias hold the lowest goals against average in the Big West at 1.01 per game.
CHASING HISTORY!
Currently at 16 career clean sheets, David Elias sits just three shutouts away from the Fullerton career shutouts record, which was set by Mike Ammann from 1991-93 who had 19. The senior leader added a shutout to his total on Oct. 22 after the Titans defeated UCR on the road, 1-0. Elias kept the backline line intact all night as an early goal from Alex Heilmann in the 14th minute put all the pressure on the defense to hold on to the 1-0 lead and they did. The Titan goalkeeper made a crucial save late in the game to secure the huge road victory for Fullerton. With one regular season match left, Elias will need to record a clean sheet in that game and two more after that to tie the program record but with the Titans back in the Big West Tournament it looks likely that the senior will get at least one more match at the conclusion of the regular season.
CORNER KICKING THE COMPETITION
As we get toward the end of the season there is one statistical category that the Titans have dominated all year, corners. Fullerton extend its lead atop the Big West with a steady diet of corners this past week to have a total of 118 corners which is 26 more than UC Irvine who is second in the conference with 92 corners. On average, the Titans draw around 6.21 corners a contest which has been crucial to maintaining possession in the attacking half and keeping pressure on opposing teams in the box. Robert Coronado and Nicolo D'Amato have been the primary corner takers for Fullerton and have been successful on getting the ball in dangerous positions for Titan forwards such as Alex Heilmann, Rei Dorwart and Jacob Perez.
KUNTZ REACHES 350 MARK
Fullerton men's soccer coach George Kuntz continues to add to his stellar coaching legacy this season as he reached the 350 win mark with a 1-0 road win over UC Riverside on Oct. 22. Kuntz also collected his 75th Big West victory at the same time. Currently, Kuntz has a steady lead when it comes to all-time career victories as the Titan head coach leads UC Santa Barbara's Tim Vom Steeg by 110 wins. Coach Kuntz has also been outstanding when tournament times come around as he has a 13-1 career record in the Big West Tournament and is currently undefeated in the conference tournament (5-0) since taking the helm at Fullerton back in 2014.
FRIDAYS AT FULLERTON
With the start of the 2016-17 athletic season, CSUF introduces Fridays at Fullerton which is a membership club designed to enhance the Titan game day experience. The membership will feature a beer/wine hospitality area at every Friday home competition for all sports. Those interested in joining the club can visit www.fullertontitans.com/donate/Fridays_at_Fullerton for more information.
FULLERTONTITANS.COM
Make sure to visit the official site of Cal State Fullerton Athletics (FullertonTitans.com) for the latest news, scores, stats and photos from every CSUF event.
TICKETS
The Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office is located in the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive on the northeast side of Titan Gym. Ticket purchases can be made in person at the Ticket Office, over the phone, or online. Those interested in the best available tickets should visit FullertonTitans.com at least 24 hours prior to any athletic sporting event.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Make sure to follow @CSUFMensSoccer on Twitter and like the Cal State Fullerton Men's Soccer page on Facebook to keep up with the Titans. Also, make sure to give a follow to @FullertonTitans on Twitter and Snapchat.