2016 SEASON IN REVIEW: The 2016 season for Cal State Fullerton men's soccer featured its up-and-downs, highlights and a dose of adversity, but in the end it was another strong season for coach George Kuntz and the Titans. CSUF men's soccer fared well through a brutal non-conference schedule that featured its first eight matches of the year on the road. The Titans collected key road victories over UNLV, Memphis, Texas Rio-Grande Valley and San Francisco during the trip. Fullerton got off to a slow start in conference season with tough losses at UC Davis and Sacramento State. However, the Titans went on seven match unbeaten streak to end conference play by defeating UC Riverside twice, UC Irvine and San Diego while securing important road points at CSUN and UCI to finish second overall in the South Division and clinch a home match in the first round of the Big West Tournament against UC Davis.
Fullerton continued to stayed hot entering the tournament with the first round match vs. the Aggies resulting in a shootout victory. Titan goalkeeper David Elias made an incredible save in the shootout to help CSUF prevail and advance to the semifinals where it had to face UCSB on the road for the first time since last year's Big West Tournament Championship. In the semifinal match, Rei Dorwart and Ross McPhie netted goals for the Titans in the first 50 minutes of the match and didn't look back from there as Elias made key saves down the stretch to help Fullerton move on to its third consecutive Big West Tournament Championship. Ironically, the only team in the Titans' pursuit of their third-straight conference tournament title was the team who finished atop the South Division, CSUN. With the championship hosted by CSUN, Fullerton needed to quiet the home crowd quickly and they did just that early in the second half, as senior leader Alex Heilmann headed home a goal off a Nicolo D'Amato free kick to put the Titans up 1-0.
Unfortunately, CSUN's Edwin Quiroz launched an unbelievable shot from just inside the left side of the box that found its way into the net to score the equalizer and force overtime. In the final minutes of the overtime period, the Matadors were granted a penalty after a poor challenge inside the box from Elias. Thankfully for the Titans, Elias had been in that situation before and didn't let the moment phase him as he dove to his right and blocked the penalty to force double overtime and keep CSUF's championship hopes alive. CSUN's Jere Degraffenreidt went on to end the match with the winner in the 109th minute as the Titans 2016 season came to an end with a 2-1 loss in the Big West Tournament Championship at CSUN.
CHAMPIONSHIP BECOMING A HABIT: With yet another Big West Tournament Championship appearance under coach George Kuntz this season, the Titans became only the second men's soccer program in conference history to appear in three consecutive conference tournament championship matches. Fullerton joins UCSB who holds the record with four-straight appearances in the tournament final.
KUNTZ HITS 350: 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, the Titan head coach has the most career victories among Big West coaches with 352 in his 28 years of coaching. Kuntz has also fared well in the Big West Tournament by posting a career record of 14-2-2 in the tournaments 8th year of existence.
PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Alex Heilmann (F, Sr.): In his final season with the Titans, Heilmann made a complete 360 by switching from defender to forward as a senior. But the La Habra native didn't make the move look difficult at all as he netted 12 goals to lead the Big West in goals scored and points with 26. He also dished out two assists while collecting his first career hat trick against UNLV. Heilmann's spectacular senior season earned him a spot on the All-Big West First Team, Big West Player of the Week honors twice and College Soccer News' National Player of the Week (10/24). He also landed a spot in the program record book, as he currently is tied for 8th in most goals scored in a single season with 12.
David Elias (GK, Sr.): After an historic junior season, Elias closed out his Titan career with a strong senior campaign as the Huntington Beach native recorded two clean sheets and led the Big West in goals against average (1.05) in 13 games behind the net for Fullerton. With two more shutouts to add to his resume, he now has the third-most in program history with 16 career shutouts and holds the program record for clean sheets in a season with 12 during his junior year.
FINISHING STRONG
After losing to UC Davis on Oct. 8, the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer squad went unbeaten in nine-straight matches before falling to CSUN in the Big West Tournament Championship. The streak included five victories, three ties and one shootout victory. Two wins came against then Big West South Division leader UC Riverside as Jacob Perez' goal in the 76th minute lifted the Titans over the Highlanders at Titan Stadium. Meanwhile, conference-leading goal scorer Alex Heilmann netted an early goal at UCR to give Fullerton two key wins over the Highlanders. The Titans also defeated UC Irvine and San Diego with a pair of 3-1 victories. Fullerton did collect road points at CSUN and UC Irvine to secure second place in the South Division. In the first round of the tournament, CSUF faced UC Davis at home and went perfect in the shootout to secure a spot in the semifinals at UCSB. Against UCSB, beautiful defending and goals from Rei Dorwart and Ross McPhie lifted the Titans over the Gauchos at Harder Stadium, 2-1, to earn a spot in the championship at CSUN.
EIGHT TITANS EARN CONFERENCE HONORS
The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer program continues to add to its list of prestigious conference honors, as eight Titans earned All-Big West honors. Alex Heilmann and Ricardo Covarrubias headlined the all-conference nods for the Titans as both were named to the All-Big West First Team. The Fullerton duo became the first pair of Titans to be named to the conference first team since 2012. Sophomore Ross McPhie earned his first career All-Big West honor as he was named to the second team after a strong season in the Fullerton midfield. For the third consecutive season, a Titan freshman was named to the All-Big West Freshman team as Rei Dorwart received the conference honor. The forward had two assists and seven shots on goal in his freshman campaign. Ruben Alvarez, Ronaldo Pineda, Robert Coronado and David Elias each received All-Big West honorable mention nods. Coronado, Pineda and Elias each received their second career all-conference honorable mention honor after solid seasons at their positions.
HEILMANN'S HAT TRICK
Against UNLV on Sept. 2, Titan forward Alex Heilmann put the team on his back as he netted three goals to collect his first career hat trick and get Fullerton its first victory of the season. The La Habra native gave the Titans their first lead of the season in the 34th minute with a cheeky shot to the right of the goalkeeper and into the net. In the second half, the Rebels scored the equalizer early but Heilmann headed in a corner from Nicolo D'Amato in the 75th minute to give CSUF a 2-1 lead. The senior secured the Titans' win with an insurance goal just 10 minutes later to complete the hat trick and get Fullerton back on the winning track.
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