IRVINE, Calif. – Despite Cal State Fullerton's 1-0 loss to UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium on Sunday, the Titans still advanced to the Big West Tournament and will host 2013 regular season champion Cal Poly at 7:35 p.m., Thursday night at Titan Stadium.
Fullerton (8-6-5, 3-3-2) earned the right to host the Big West Tournament due to its 2012 regular season Big West championship.
The No. 2 seeded Anteaters will host No. 3 seed UC Riverside at Titan Stadium at 5:05 p.m. Tickets are currently available online by clicking HERE. Student tickets are $5 for students that present an ID card from a participating institution.
Following Sunday's result in the final matches of the regular season, Cal Poly finished the season with 21 points (7-1-0), followed by UC Irvine (18 points; 6-2-0), UC Riverside (12 points; 4-4-0), Cal State Fullerton (11 points; 3-3-2), Hawai'i (10 points; 3-4-1), UC Davis (10 points; 3-4-1), Long Beach State (9 points; 2-3-3), UC Santa Barbara (9 points; 3-5) and Cal State Northridge (4 points; 1-6-1).
Fullerton headed into the day third in the standings, and a win would have clinched the No. 3 seed for the tournament, but Natalie Ledezma's goal in the 37th minute put the Titans behind in the first half as she headed Mady Solow's corner kick in the right corner.
The Titans placed only two shots on goal and failed to convert the equalizer, while the Anteaters placed six shots on frame as Titan goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic made five saves.
Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton have met four times in the Big West Tournament, and the Titans trail in the series 1-3-1. In the last Big West tournament meeting between the two programs, the Mustangs and Titans played a 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in the tournament final. Fullerton advanced as Tournament MVP Shayla Sabin denied Whitney Sisler's sixth-round penalty kick attempt and the Titans won their third straight Big West Tournament title and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Notes: The Titans were shut out for the seventh times this season…the Titans are winless against the Anteaters in their last six meetings (0-4-2), but lead the all-time series (10-8-4).