Nov. 5, 2005
Fullerton, Calif. - Zach Feldman's steal and subsequent assist to Alec de Mattos Saturday afternoon broke a scoreless tie in the second half and sent Cal State Northridge on its way to a 3-0 victory at Cal State Fullerton that clinched at least a share of the Big West Conference title for the Matadors.
CSUN is now 13-2-3 overall and 8-0-1 in the Big West for 25 points with only a game against UC Irvine remaining on the league schedule. UCI could forge a tie with the Matadors only with a head-to-head win and a victory at third-place UC Santa Barbara. Fullerton lost its third in a row to fall to 4-12-1 and 1-7-0.
Feldman came from behind Titan goalkeeper Bobby Armstrong to steal the ball off the ground. He dribbled toward the net, which was guarded only by a Titan defender, and fed de Mattos for the game's first score in the 53rd minute. Ryan Rossi and Devin Deldo added later goals.
Northridge outshot the hosts, 23-5, and goalkeeper Kevin Guppy needed to make only one save in his 88:23 of work before giving way to Takeshi Nakanishi, who completed the shutout, CSUN's fifth in a row.
Armstrong made four saves for the Titans but allowed two goals before giving way to Kevin Puder for the final 19 minutes.
Fullerton plays at Cal Poly SLO on Wednesday night and completes its season next Saturday night vs. UC Riverside.