No. 1 Cal Poly at No. 4 Cal State Fullerton
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 | 7:35 PM
Titan Satdium
Fullerton, Calif.
Live Stats | Video | Audio | Tickets
TICKETS: Tickets ($8-$12) are currently available online by clicking HERE. Student tickets are $5 for students that present an ID card from a participating institution.
KICK OFF: On Thursday, Cal State Fullerton will make its eighth Big West Conference Tournament appearance when the No. 4 seeded Titans host 2013 regular season champion and No. 1 seed Cal Poly in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at Titan Stadium.
No. 2 UC Irvine and No. 3 UC Riverside will kick-off the tournament in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The winners will move on to play in the Big West Tournament finals at 1 :00 p.m., Sunday at Titan Stadium. The match, which determines the Big West's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament will be broadcast on Fox Sports Primeticket.
IN THE POLLS: Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly, UC Riverside and UC Irvine are not currently listed among the nation's top 25 entering the Big West Conference Tournament, however, the Anteaters rank fourth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America West Region rankings, followed by Nov. 8 Cal Poly and No. 9 Cal State Fullerton.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics) and Twitter (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's soccer team has established its own Facebook and Twitter presence. Search for "Cal State Fullerton Women's Soccer" on Facebook or follow them on Twitter at @CSUF_WSoccer.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?": Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, Cal State Fullerton's home matches, as well as selected road contests, can be heard live over the Internet at FullertonTitans.com. Veteran broadcaster Mike Martinez will have the play-by-play. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of the newly redesigned FullertonTitans.com and enjoy the action.
"CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?": Both of Thursday's Big West Tournament semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN3. ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Xbox and Apple TV. It is available in more than 85 million households nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high speed internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated provider.
Sunday's finale will be televised by Fox Sports Primeticket.
I NEED STATS, STAT!: Live stats will be available for all of Cal State Fullerton's home matches and selected road contests throughout the year. Follow along by accessing the links on the women's soccer schedule page at FullertonTitans.com.
"O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!": Cal State Fullerton junior midfielder Chelsey Patterson has been named team captain for the 2013 season.
CAL POLY BRIEFLY: By winning 1-0 at UC Davis last Thursday, the Mustangs (7-1-0 Big West, 11-7-0 overall) clinched both the regular-season Big West title and the top seed in the conference tournament. Cal Poly had to wait until Sunday evening, however, to learn its opponent for Thursday. Cal Poly's Elise Krieghoff leads the Big West Conference and ranks second in the nation scoring 21 goals.
SERIES NOTES: Cal State Fullerton trails the all-time series with Cal Poly 7-13-4. 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.
In all-time matches at Titan Stadium, Cal State Fullerton and the Mustangs record is 4-4-3.
In the match up between the two teams in 2013, Cal Poly's Elise Krieghoff – the leading goal scorer in the Big West Conference and the second leading goal scorer in the country – converted a penalty kick after a Titan handball in the box in the 52nd minute to lead the Mustangs to a 1-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
"THE SUSPENSE IS TERRIBLE... I HOPE IT'LL LAST": Don't leave early, there's plenty of soccer left to play. It's almost become routine for the Titans to play an overtime period or two this season as they have done eight times thus far in 2013 -- three shy of their NCAA record-tying 11 overtime matches in 2011. The Titans remain unbeaten in overtime (3-0-5) and are 13-10-19 in extra time during Head Coach Demian Brown's six-plus seasons.
"WAIT A MINUTE. STRIKE THAT. REVERSE IT.": As Fullerton opened its 2013 season, the offense struggled to find its legs, scoring just five times in its first eight contests (3-3-2 record). The Titans reversed that trend, scoring eight times during their five-match unbeaten streak from Sept. 22-Oct. 6 (3-0-2 record), including multiple goals in three of those matches. Fullerton has scored multiple goals in only four games this season, and in it last seven matches, the Titans have scored four goals.
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Cal State Fullerton has made it a habit of scoring late this season, netting nine of its 16 goals -- three of those going for "golden goal" game-winners -- in the 70th minute or later, including a pair against Hawai'i (Oct. 4) and Cal State Northridge (Oct. 6). Morgan Batcheller, who had the game-tying goal against the Matadors in the 72nd minute on Oct. 6 (and had another in the 108th minute at USC earlier in the year), has two of the nine goals, heading up a group that includes Ali White (74' at BYU), Rebecca Wilson (71' vs. Montana), Brianna Chapman (89' vs. LMU), Janali West (74' vs. Gonzaga), Summer Chavez (93' vs. Hawaii), Nikki McCants (88th vs. UC Santa Barbara) and Erica Mazeau (110th minute vs. UC Davis).
HOME COOKING: Fullerton's 1-0 overtime win over UC Davis on Oct. 27 moved the Titans to 7-1-3 within the friendly confines of Titan Stadium, surpassing their 2011 mark of 6-4-2 on their home turf. The record for most home wins was set in 1996 (10-5) and later matched by the 2005 squad (10-1).
HELPING HERSELF TO THE RECORD BOOK: Another match, another assist for Erica Mazeau as she was charged with the assist on Janali West's goal against Long Beach State last Thursday. The assist was 14th of the senior's career, placing her eighth on the school's all-time list in the category. Mazeau stands just four back of co-record holders Dolores Browning (1995-98) and Kellie Cox (2001-05) for the top spot.
WELL, THAT WAS QUICK: Summer Chavez's strike just 2:35 into overtime against Hawai'i on Oct. 4 was the sixth-fastest overtime goal by a Titan in school history and the quickest since JeAnne Mazeau scored just 58 seconds into the first extra time period at Cal State Northridge on Oct. 5 of last season.
NUMBER 10... Nikki McCants became the 10th different Titan to score a goal this season with her volley in the 88th minute against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20 -- the fourth time in the last eight goals that a new Fullerton player has put their name into the scoring column. Only four players (Erica Mazeau, Christina Burkenroad, Janali West and Morgan Batcheller) have scored multiple times this season.
THE 200 CLUB: With her 12 saves on the opening weekend of Big West play, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic joined a very select group in Cal State Fullerton women's soccer history, becoming only the third keeper to eclipse the 200-save plateau for a career. Adding eight saves last week against the 49ers and Anteaters, Maricic's 228 career saves rank behind only Laura Janke's 235 stops from 2000-03 and Karen Bardsley's school-record 312 saves from 2002-06 on the all-time list. In addition, Maricic's 87 saves this season rank seventh on the single-season chart and mark a career-best for the Alta Loma, Calif., native.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: If the season ended today, Maricic's .870 save percentage would be a school record, eclipsing the mark of .848 set by Karen Bardsley in 2006. Maricic has allowed just 13 goals in 105 shots on frame this season which, right now, matches the fewest goals allowed by a Fullerton starting keeper since Bardsley let in just 13 goals in 2005.
ALL TIED UP: Last Thursday's draw against Long Beach State marked the ninth career tie with Maricic in net -- far and away the all-time record for a Fullerton keeper, doubling up the previous mark held by Bardsley and Shannon Simpson (2007-10), who each had four decisions that ended in draws during their careers.
MINUTE-WOMAN: With her 200 minutes played last week, Maricic solidified her hold on the No. 2 spot with 6,177 career minutes played between the pipes, standing just 218 back of career leader Karen Bardsley (6,395 minutes from 2002-06).
ELSEWHERE...: Lindsey Maricic also ranks among the school's top five in saves per game (5th - 4.00), save percentage (2nd - .802), goals against average (3rd - .982), and wins (t2nd - 24).
#WINNING: Erica Mazeau's assist on Nikki McCants' game-winner against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20 was her third game-winning assist of the season (tied for third on the school's single-season list) and the sixth of her career, placing her in a tie for second on Fullerton's all-time list -- three back of Kellie Cox's career mark of nine from 2001-05.
"THIS" CLOSE: Seventeen of Cal State Fullerton's 19 matches this season have been decided by a single goal or fewer, save for a 3-1 loss at No. 6 BYU in the season opener on Aug. 23 and a 2-0 win over Montana on Sept. 1 at home.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: How does the Titans' defense stand up nationally, you ask? Among all 323 NCAA programs, the Titans rank No. 11 in the nation in save percentage (.873), while ranking 29th in goals against average (0.681). Individually, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic ranks among the top 100 in four different categories: No. 14 in save percentage (.870), No. 67 in saves per game (5.12), No. 33 in goals against average (0.703) and No. 72 in saves (87).
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): Fullerton's defense has emerged as one of the best in the league, ranking atop the Big West statistical rankings in fewest goals allowed (14), goals against average (0.68), and saves (96), while standing tied for third in shutouts (7). If they keep this up, the Titans could challenge the school record for fewest goals allowed in a season (15 in 2005).
BE AGGRESSIVE, B-E AGGRESSIVE: Cal State Fullerton, whistled for a Big West leading 245 fouls this season, has been the aggressor on the pitch thus far, racking up 16 matches with 10 or more fouls and leading the opposition in that category in 13 of its 19 contests this season -- including a season-high 27 fouls on Sept. 15 against Utah State. Only Fresno State (23-11), Gonzaga (15-12), UC Riverside (9-5 and UC Davis (19-11) have "out-fouled" the Titans this season.
TOP DRAWER RANKING: Erica Mazeau, Lindsey Maricic and Morgan Batcheller were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Top 20 List for the Big West Conference.