FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton scored three times in the first 45 minutes and it was more than enough in a 3-0 exhibition victory over Cal State Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Titan Stadium.
With the win, the Titans wrapped up their two-game exhibition schedule with a split, dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 25 Loyola Marymount before bouncing back with a win on Wednesday."
"This was another chance for us to get out there before the season opener,"said Titans Head Coach Demian Brown. "There's still a number of things for us to work at and get better at but I am impressed and happy with our starting group and feel they have a really good understanding of our play. Another opportunity for them to train against outside competition was a good opportunity for us tonight."
The starting unit helped the Titans jump out to a two-goal advantage early in the first half. Nano Oronoz got the scoring started in the 18th minute on a breakaway thanks to a perfect feed from Sarah Fajnor from midfield. Oronoz beat her defender and then beat Golden Eagles' goalkeeper Adriana Maldonado with a low shot to the far post to put Fullerton ahead 1-0.
Just a couple minutes later in the 20th minute off a corner kick, the ball bounce off a number of players before Tala Haddad fired a left-footed strike that bounced off the inside of the bar, but after it had crossed the goal line and the Titans led 2-0.
That marked the end of the night for the starting 11 as the Titans subbed in a half-dozen new players but the scoring did not stop.
In the 37th minute, freshman Hailey Pohevitz capitalized on a turnover by the Golden Eagles in the box. Pohevitz beat the keeper to make it 3-0 to cap off the scoring.
Despite not scoring in the second half, the Titans peppered the CSULA goal in the second half, notching seven shots on target and 12 shots overall in the final 45 minutes. Fullerton unloaded 28 shots on the night with 11 of them on target.
"I'm happy with how the team as a whole is understanding our system of play," Brown said. "We have to do better in front of the goal and we have to do better with our service and I think those are the things that we'll continue to work on; not just from one group to the next but as a program as a whole."
Jennifer Stuart got the win for Fullerton as she logged 58-plus minutes in net before Morgan Bertsch played the final 31-plus minutes of the match. Stuart made the only save of the night required by the Titans as the defense held the Golden Eagles to just three shots overall, one on target.
The Titans will open the regular season on Friday night as they host St. Mary's at Titan Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.