FULLERTON, Calif. – After another pair of late goals last week to earn a draw and a win on the road, the Titans look to get on the board early as they wrap up their three-game road trip Thursday when they head south to face the University of San Diego before hosting Cornell at Titan Stadium Sunday at 5 p.m. PT.
QUICK HITS
• Cal State Fullerton wraps up its three game road trip when they play San Diego Thursday. The Titans are 1-0-2 on the road this year.
• Fullerton has scored in the last 20 minutes of action in four out of its five games this season, including three to force overtime.
• Samuel Goni leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist. Goni led the team in 2017 with 19 points.
• The Titans have qualified for the NCAA Tournament three of the last four seasons and now look to make it four in five years.
• Head Coach George Kuntz is in his 5th season at the helm of the Titans. Cal State Fullerton is 44-34-18 under his leadership.
• Fullerton's 44 wins since Kuntz arrived in 2015 is the most among Big West team's over the four year time period.
LATE GAME HEROICS... AGAIN
Once again, the Titans need some late clutch plays to earn themselves four points last week against Cal Baptist and UNLV. Fullerton scored in the 74th minute on a goal by Christian Pinzon to force overtime and earn a draw on the road. The Titans then came up with a huge goal against UNLV in the 85th minute to take a 1-0 victory in the desert.
Fullerton used a pair of late game heroics in the first week of the season to grab two draws in three games. Bass Sarr was the first to come up clutch for the Titans as he scored in the 87th minute against Missouri State on the road to force overtime and eventually earn a 1-1 draw. The very next game against James Madison it was freshman DJ Wilson's turn to save the Titans as he scored in the 88th minute to force overtime and eventually earn a 1-1 draw.
GONI STRIKES BACK
Senior forward Samuel Goni has started to get his offensive game going in the last couple of weeks. Goni leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist. The senior scored his first goal of the season on a highlight reel shot against New Mexico. Goni then followed it up with a clutch assist against Cal Baptist to force overtime and eventually earn Fullerton a 1-1 draw. He then came up with more late heroics as he scored in the 85th minute against UNLV to capture the Titans first victory of the season.
MAINTAINING THE STREAK
Cal State Fullerton has recorded 10 or more wins in four straight seasons, the longest current streak among Big West programs. The Titans have won more games (43) than any other conference school, coinciding with the arrival of head coach George Kuntz in 2015.
OPPONENT AND HISTORY
SAN DIEGO
7 p.m. | Thursday, Sept. 13 | Torero Stadium
Fullerton has matched up with San Diego 28 times and hold a record of 10-13-5. The Titans and Toreros finished last seasons match in a 1-1 draw after going to double overtime.
San Diego is 2-2-2 with losses to ranked opponents in UCLA and Duke, with wins over Cal Baptist and Lipscomb while finishing with draws against Belmont and fellow Big West opponent UC Irvine.
Head Coach George Kuntz (@docsoccer) on tomorrow's match against San Diego. More importantly, happy birthday to @tp_alfred0! Got him!! pic.twitter.com/lRhvVtc0Tr
— Titans Men's Soccer (@FullertonMSOC) September 12, 2018
CORNELL
5 p.m. | Sunday, Sept. 16 | Titan Stadium
The Titans will face off against Cornell for just the third time in the history of the two programs. The last time the two teams met was in 2013 when the Fullerton fell 2-1 in overtime. The Titans are 0-2 against The Big Red all-time.
Cornell is 3-1 on the season with wins over Binghamton, St. Francis College Brooklyn and Lafayette with a loss to Syracuse. The Big Red plays fellow Big West opponent CSUN on Friday before heading down to Titan Stadium.
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.
Ross McPhie has accounted for seven career game-winning goals, the most among any current Big West player. He needs just two more to tie former Titan Hector Orellana (2001-03) for eighth all-time in conference history.
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).
