FULLERTON, Calif. – After a long summer of training in the grueling heat, the Titans officially kick off the season Monday night on the road against Missouri State at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium at 5 p.m. PT.
QUICK HITS
• Cal State Fullerton looks to defend its Big West Conference Championship after winning its third championship in four seasons.
• Fullerton has made it to four consecutive conference tournament finals, including winning back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 and once again in 2017.
• The Titans have qualified for the NCAA Tournament three of the last four seasons.
• Fullerton starts off the season on the road for the sixth year in a row. The Titans had a record of 4-5-1 away from Titan Stadium last year.
• Head Coach George Kuntz is entering his 5th season at the helm of the Titans. Cal State Fullerton is 43-33-15 under his leadership and have recorded double-digit wins in all four years.
IN THE POLLS
For just the second time in program history the Titans have been picked first in the Big West Preseason Coaches poll to win the conference. Fullerton received four votes (57 points) with UC Santa Barbara right behind them with three votes (55 points).
OPPONENT AND HISTORY
Missouri State University
5 p.m. | Friday, Aug. 27 | Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium
The Titans and the Bears will face for the first time in the history of two programs when Fullerton heads east to Missouri.
The Bears went 9-5-3 last season and lost in the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Missouri State one the regular season conference championship and have been picked in the MVC preseason poll.
Missouri State returns its two top point getters from last season in Conor Ingram who led the team with seven goals and 15 points. Josh Dolling also returns after scoring four goals and recording nine points as a freshman in 2017.
2017 RECAP
The Titans finished last season 10-8-4 (4-4-2 Big West) to earn Co-South Division champions with CSUN. Fullerton made it to its fourth consecutive conference tournament finals appearance where they pulled out a win in penalty kicks to win its third conference title in four years along with punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.
BRINGING BACK THE SQUAD
Titans welcome back a strong core of players from last season with 20 returners, including nine starters with four redshirt freshman returning to the squad. Samuel Goni and Ross McPhie headline the returners as they led the team with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Goni and McPhie were named to the All-Big West Conference First Team along with being named to the All-Far West Region Third Team. The Titans look forward to having Rob Coronado back in the lineup after missing all of last season with an injury.
Paul-Andre Guerin returns for his junior season and is expected to start in goal for the Titans after starting in 17 games with a 7-7-3 record last year. Guerin led the Conference with the lowest goals against average with 1.18 per game. Guerin was named Big West Conference Tournament MVP after his outstanding performance in the championship match against UC Davis.
CLOSING IN ON RECORDS
Fifth-year senior Robert Coronado returns for his final season after suffering a season-ending injury in 2017. Coronado has recorded 12 assists over three years and needs just three more assists to be tied for 10th all-time in the history of the program. Paul-Andre Guerin has recorded eight shutouts in two years, needing just three more shutouts to be ranked eighth all-time in Fullerton's record book.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
The Titans add a handful of intriguing prospects which led to the 2018 class being ranked No. 25 in the country according to Top drawer soccer. Charly Anguiano headlines the class, ranking as the No. 24 recruit in the country coming out of the L.A. Galaxy Academy. Zico Bailey also joins the Titans as a highly touted prospect after appearing in five games in the United Soccer League for L.A. Galaxy II.
Both Anguiano and Bailey have enjoyed stints with the junior United State National Teams. Jose Delgado and Austin Chanock join Anguiano who came over from the L.A. Galaxy Academy looking to make a big impact for the Titans 2018 squad.
Edward Salazar is another freshman to join the team as he comes from a highly regarded high school in Cathedral where he helped lead the team to a CIF Southern Section and regional championship. Fullerton also added Paul Iniguez from Garey High School and Tyler Marquez from Lakewood High School along with DJ Wilson from Oceanside.
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.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's soccer team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonMSOC), and Instagram accounts (@fullertonmsoc).