Oct. 15, 2009
San Luis Obispo, Calif. - Junior midfielder Junior Burgos equaled the Cal Poly men's soccer program record for goals during a match inside the opening 25 minutes Wednesday evening with the sixth hat trick in program history as the Mustangs stemmed a second half challenge from Cal State Fullerton to post a 3-2 victory at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Junior goalkeeper Patrick McLain equaled a career high with seven saves for Cal Poly (5-7-1, 3-1-0), which registered its sixth-consecutive victory against Cal State Fullerton (6-6-1, 2-2-0) and moved into a deadlock atop the Big West standings after co-leader UC Santa Barbara's Wednesday match at UC Davis was cancelled due to poor pitch conditions.
Burgos, who entered Wednesday's match with one goal during his initial six matches as a Mustang, collected his first strike in the fifth minute when he ripped a free kick from 30 yards out past Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon. The strike ended a 252-minute scoring drought by the Mustangs, dating to a 1-0 win against UC Davis on Oct. 4.
In the 19th minute, a foul inside the Titan box by Cal State Fullerton defender Bobby Reiss sent Burgos to the spot, where he buried his second penalty kick of the year and Cal Poly's fourth in as many attempts this season.
Burgos, who also hit the right post with a shot in the 10th, finalized Cal Poly's first hat trick in nearly four seasons in the 25th, taking a feed through the box from junior forward David Zamora and firing past Whiddon into the right corner of the net.
"It was extremely frustrating to 'gift' SLO 3 goals to start the game the way we did," said CSF Head Coach Bob Ammann. "Being down, 3-0, after 25 minutes is a very daunting task against any opponent.
"We made some tactical changes at halftime that flipped the game in our favor and allowed us the opportunity to get back into the game. Unfortunately for us, we just ran out of time.
"I was as proud of my players' response under the circumstances as I have ever been and look forward to continuing the momentum we generated."
Cal State Fullerton, which outshot Cal Poly, 18-11, tested McLain three times during the first half before finally breaking through on midfielder Jamall Farquharson's third goal of the year in the 64th minute. Another goal by Titan defender Jonathan Birt two minutes later sliced the Cal State Fullerton deficit to a single goal.
Cal State Fullerton placed three additional shots on target and had a potential game-tying goal ruled offside in the 72nd, but Cal Poly preserved victory to improve to 19-3-2 at Spanos Stadium.
Fullerton hosts UC Davis on Saturday night in a rematch of last Saturday's 3-2 Titans' win in the second overtime in Davis.