Game Notes

FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton hosts its first game of the 2017 season at Titan Stadium against the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday at 7 p.m. The Titans then head north to take on the University of Portland Monday evening at 7 p.m. in their only road game of the week.

QUICK HITS

• Cal State Fullerton started off the 2017 regular season with

a tough 2-0 loss to No. 5 Clemson on the road. The Titans, however, bounced back immediately with a 1-0 win in double-overtime at Wof- ford College less than two days later.

• The Titans broke a three-year streak of not securing a win in their first two games of the season when they pulled out a late goal against Wofford.

• Forward Samuel Goni scored his first goal as a Titan to give Ful- lerton the win in double-overtime after missing all of last season with an injury.

• The Titans defense stifled Wofford all game, giving up just three shots while allowing none on goal.

• Kuntz is in his 4th season at the helm of the Titans. Cal State Ful- lerton is 34-26-11 under his leadership.

IN THE STANDINGS
Fullerton sits in a three-way tie for first place in the South Division with UCI and CSUN who are also 1-1-0 after the first week of play.

OPPONENT AND HISTORY

Santa Clara University
7 p.m. | Friday, Sept. 1 | Titan Stadium

The Titans and Broncos have met twenty-three times in the history of the programs. Santa Clara has gotten the best of Fullerton in the past two matches, including handing the Titans a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2015. The last time the two teams met was in 2016 at a neutral site, Santa Clara won 2-1 in. 

Santa Clara has struggled to start the year, going 0-2 at home while giving up six goals in the first two games of the season. It may not be the start the Broncos wanted but the losses did come against ranked opponents in No. 6 Maryland and West Virginia who is now ranked No. 19 after the first week of play.

"Santa Clara is very good and we've played them every year the last few years. They are a very good counter-attack team, very direct team and very skillful," said Head Coach George Kuntz.  

The Broncos were able to net two goals against Maryland, senior Valdemar Andersen and Brandon Billingham each score a goal apiece and have the only points on the team as both goal were unassisted. Santa Clara used two goalies in the first two games, junior Dakota Havlick gave up four goals against Maryland while freshman Seamus Hudnut gave up two in the game against West Virginia. 

University of Portland
7 p.m. | Monday, Sept. 4 | Merlo Field 

Fullerton faces the University of Portland for the 9th time in program history. The Titans are 2-5-1 all-time against the Pilots and have lost the last two matches including the most recent meeting in 2012 when Portland won 4-0 at Titan Stadium.

Portland is 1-1-0 so far this season and are coming off of a 6-0 victory over Fairfield on Monday. The Pilot's loss in the first game of the season was a 3-2 double-overtime defeat to UNLV, who the Titans will play later on this season. Sophomore forward Benji Michel has buried four goals on the season with three of them coming in the win over Fairfield. Fellow forward Jason Romero also put up a hat-trick against Fairfield while also adding an assist against UNLV to give him seven points.

Goni's Golden Goal
Forward Samuel Goni scored the Titans first and only goal so far of the season to give Fullerton the 1-0 win in double-overtime against Wofford. It was also Goni's first goal as a Titan as he missed all of the 2016 season with an injury. The Spaniard scored on a perfectly executed corner by Diego Sanchez which he buried off of the bounce.

SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets.The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278- 2783 or by emailat athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at theeastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.