WAIPI'O, Hawaii - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's soccer team secured their spot in the Big West Championship after taking down the University of Hawai'i 2-0 on Sunday evening at the Waipi'o Sports Complex.
The Titans have qualified for 9 Big West postseason appearances under Head Coach Demian Brown's tenure and nine of the last 10 Big West tournaments since 2012. 2018 was the only year they didn't qualify and 2020 was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The Titans scored a goal in each half as they held onto the shutout win. The Titans moved to 8-5-5 overall and 5-2-2 in conference play. They continued pace with the leaderboard on top of the Big West as Cal Poly and Long Beach have 18 points and the Titans and UC Davis have 17 points.
The first half was a pretty even affair between both sides as both sides were attacking each other fluidly. The Rainbow Wahine outshot the Titans 10-4 in the first half but most of their opportunities were close but not on frame. The Titans capitalized on their corner kick advantage as they had 6 corners to the Rainbow Wahine's 1 corner.
On the Titans third corner kick, Graci Raymond found Kaylin Raibon's head as she scored her second goal of the season. Both of Raibon's goals have been game-winning goals this season.
25' | GOOOOOALLL!!! Raibon with the header on the Titans third corner of the game puts the Titans up 1-0!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/qIUmWgLPOt
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) October 24, 2022
Hawaii threatened with a couple opportunities on goal but Mia Ranson was there and made two saves for the game.
The Titans were the more aggressive side in the second half as they had a couple opportunities outside of the gate to start the half. Kaya Hawkinson barely missed high on a free kick opportunity and Makenna McGill had a shot missed out wide after a perfect cross from Hailey Gough.
The Titans finally got their second goal after Kaytlin Brinkman did all the work herself. She stole the ball on a Hawaii defenders pass and was able to dribble it inside the box and curl a shot to the far post to give the Titans a 2-0 lead.
KB steals the ball from the Hawaii defense and finds the angle on the far post!! pic.twitter.com/v4NdJ7WSdh
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) October 24, 2022
Hawaii would have a couple shots late in the second half but DeAira Jackson was there to make the save each time. Jackson, who recently recovered from a hand injury earlier in the season played the second half of the game and made three saves. The Titan keepers combined for five saves and posted their seventh shutout of the season.
86' | DeAira Jackson with a big save to keep the Rainbow Wahine off the board!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/vhGXsgF6OC
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) October 24, 2022
The Titans will close out the regular season with a game against CSU Bakersfield on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
NOTES: The top four teams are still in contention for the Big West regular season title on Thursday evening. Long Beach State (18 points) hosts UC Davis (17 points) on Thursday. Both teams hold the first tiebreaker over the Titans because they both defeated Cal State Fullerton. Cal Poly (18 points) travels down to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego. The Titans are currently 4th in the table with 17 points and because UC Davis holds the tiebreaker over them. If Long Beach and UC Davis draw, the Titans can pass them with a win over CSU Bakersfield. If Cal Poly draws or loses at UC San Diego, the Titans can pass them with a win over CSU Bakersfield. If Cal Poly and Long Beach win, they would be the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the Big West Championship. Long Beach would secure the regular season title because of their superior goal differential. At worst, the Titans will remain in fourth place on Thursday no matter the result against CSU Bakersfield. Which means they would host fifth place UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the Big West Championship on Sunday, October 30th. The Titans will look to get at least a top-2 spot so they can secure a first round bye.
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