FULLERTON, Calif. – Adriana Gjonovich drilled her first goal of the season to the back post in the 83rd minute of Cal State Fullerton's 1-0 shutout of Cal Poly, propelling the Titans to the 2014 Big West Conference regular season championship.
The Titans (8-7-4, 6-0-2), winners of five straight, will be the No. 1 seed at next week's Big West Tournament held at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and will play fourth-seeded CSUN in the semifinals on Thursday.
For Fullerton, the regular season championship marks the seventh in the history of the program, as the Titans won their first in 1996 after the program began in 1993. The 1996 squad was the only other Titan team in the history of the program to complete Big West play undefeated with a record of 6-0-1.
"This is a great result for the program," eighth-year head coach Demian Brown said. "I am incredibly proud and impressed with our women to be able to battle the way that we did – not just today, but through the course of our conference season. To now conclude with a game like this, it's absolutely tremendous."
The Titans were able to complete conference play undefeated with a record of 6-0-2, totaling 20 points, and Fullerton has now won three consecutive conference titles, capturing the 2012 and 2014 Big West regular season championships as well as the 2013 Big West Tournament title.
The winner of the Big West Tournament receives the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
"We knew Cal Poly was going to be a tough team with all the things that they have been good at over the course of the year," Brown said. "To be able to withstand a lot of their pressure in the first half and to be able to come out and play a very dominating second half, I am so completely impressed. Obviously to be able to score the goal that we did with Adriana, it's something that we work on in training every day, and to be able to see it in a championship game is a big testament to our women and where we are right now. We look forward to the conference tournament where we want to be able to replicate some of the things that we have done at this point."
The first half was evenly matched as Cal Poly ( 10-9-0, 5-3-0 BWC) fired three shots compared to Cal State Fullerton's two, but in the second period, the Titans held a 9-4 shot advantage as Brianna Chapman forced a diving save from Cal Poly goalkeeper Alyssa Giannetti in the 63rd minute, and Christina Burkenroad hammered a volley from the top of the box that forced a fingertip save from Giannetti before it hit the crossbar.
But the Titans finally found the back of the net in the 83rd minute as Amanda Howard played the ball out of the midfield and found Burkenroad open on the right side. The junior dribbled her way to open space on the endline and directed her cross through the box, finding Gjonovich open at the back of the post to knock in the game winner.
It was Gjonovich's first goal of the year, while Burkenroad delivered her fourth assist.
Just a minute after the goal, Cal Poly almost found the equalizer as Cassandra Fasi's cross escaped Jennifer Stuart and bounced agonizingly in front of the goal line before it was cleared by the Titan defense.
Stuart finished the game with two saves recording her fourth shutout of the year.
Fullerton will now play CSUN in the Big West Tournament semifinals on Thursday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Titans will host the 2015 Big West Tournament at Titan Stadium by way of their 2014 Big West regular season championship.
Notes: Cal State Fullerton won its seventh Big West regular season championship: 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2014…the Titans finished Big West Conference play undefeated with a record of 6-0-2. The only other Titan team to remain unbeaten in league action was the 1996 squad (6-0-1)…the championship game was broadcast on ESPN3…prior to the game, Cal State Fullerton's five seniors were honored, and captain Chelsey Patterson ceremoniously started the game and was subbed out by Amanda Howard. The four-year starter suffered a season-ending injury at Hawai'i on Oct. 2…the Titans are unbeaten in their last eight matches (6-0-2), their longest undefeated streak since producing an 11-match winning streak from Oct. 7-Nov. 13, 2005…the win marked Cal State Fullerton's fifth straight victory, while snapping Cal Poly's four-game winning streak. The Titans' five-match winning streak is the longest for the program since winning five straight from Oct. 19-Nov. 1, 2007…the Titans recorded their sixth shutout of the year…Fullerton has scored 25 goals this year by 12 different players…the Titans are an undefeated 7-0 when scoring the first goal of the game…Cal Poly leads the all-time series against Fullerton, 13-8-5…in regulation, the Titans have outscore opponents 25-13…prior to the game, Cal State Fullerton honored its five-member senior class, Brianna Chapman, Adriana Gjonovich, Colleen Ortega, Chelsey Patterson, Lauren Stupin…the Titans finished the season averaging 794 fans per game, the largest average attendance in the history of the program with the prior record set in 2012 at 650.
