Oct. 14, 2005
Riverside, CA - Courtesy UCR Sports Information...
UC Riverside overcame a 2-0 deficit, scoring three second-half goals to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, Friday afternoon at the UCR Soccer Stadium. The victory snaps a three-game losing streak for the Highlanders, who improve to 3-8-1, 1-3-0 in the Big West, while dropping the Titans to 2-9-1, 0-4-0.
UCR scored three times in the final 13 minutes and twice in the last seven to shock the Titans. After falling behind 2-0 in the 52nd minute, UCR freshman defender David Watson scored his first collegiate goal on an improbable 35-yard shot that cleared Titan goalie Matt Cowan and landed in the top corner of the net. Sophomore forward Joey Pacheco was awarded the assist.
Given new life, UCR equalized at 83:29. Pacheco started the move by finding freshman forward Kyle Ochoa on the right touchline. Ochoa sent a low cross into the penalty area where senior forward Randy Poggio met it with a diving header that found the bottom right corner of the goal. It was Poggio©^s third goal of the season.
The Highlanders grabbed the winner with 3:28 remaining as Poggio and Ochoa again linked up. Ochoa settled a long clearance from the defense inside the UCR half, then played a neat one-two with Poggio in the center circle. With the return pass, Poggio found a sprinting Ochoa alone in the Titan half and Ochoa had a one-on-one with Cowan. The attacker got his toe to the ball first, poking it past Cowan before the two collided. UCR went ahead 3-2 but both players stayed down for several minutes. Ochoa soon rose to his feet while Cowan had to be stretchered off after a 25 minute delay.
Cowan, who missed the first month of the season with a broken foot, suffered a laceration to the head that required stitches and a concussion. A cat-scan was taken to determine if there were any facial fractures.
Despite pushing all their men forward, the Titans could not find their third goal in losing their fourth straight game.
The contest had started brightly for Cal State Fullerton, which took the lead after eight minutes. Jacob Shumway gathered a loose ball in the box and pushed the ball to Eugene Brooks, whose left-footed shot beat UCR sophomore goalkeeper Jordan King to open the scoring.
UCR had more of the offensive chances in the first half but their shots were either off-target or turned away by Cowan. The Highlanders outshot CSUF 10-5 in the opening 45 minutes but found themselves trailing 1-0 at the half.
Much like the first half, Fullerton scored eight minutes into the second period. Arron Craggs sent a through-ball to Jose Barragan, who beat the UCR offside trap before dribbling around King to make it 2-0 to the Titans.
UCR held an overall shot advantage of 19-9. King did not make a save but garnered the win. Cowan stopped six shots before giving way to Bobby Armstrong, who was not called into action for the final three minutes.
The Highlanders improve to 5-4 all-time against the Titans and have won four of the last five meetings. This was the sixth consecutive match between the two schools to be decided by a one goal margin.
UCR remains at home this weekend to host Cal Poly on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Titans host the Mustangs on Wednesday night.