Oct. 1, 2009
FULLERTON, CA - Offense was at a premium on Thursday night at Titan Stadium as the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team battled visiting Cal State Bakersfield to a scoreless draw in front of a season-high 543 fans.
It was the fourth extended match of the season for the Titans, who moved to 2-5-3 overall and played extra time for the second straight match and the fourth time overall (0-1-3) this season. Bakersfield moved to 4-7-1 overall on the year.
Junior goalkeeper Shannon Simpson, making her first start since Sept. 13 against San Francisco, made three saves on the night, including a pair of acrobatic stops in the second half to keep the match scoreless.
With 19 minutes to play in regulation, Sarah Gaskins one-timed a ball from the top of the box that Simpson smothered with a dive. The second came in the 72nd minute as a header by Raquel Gervas off a corner from Faith Perry was just tipped over the crossbar by Simpson, preserving the shutout.
Fullerton's best chance came in the second minute of the first overtime as freshman Felicia Franco's header was gobbled up by Bakersfield keeper Kym Gause, who made four saves on the night - two of those in extra time - to log her third clean sheet of the year.
Freshman Brisa Gonzalez led the Titans with a pair of shots on the night as both teams tallied six apiece. Kassi Massey finished with a pair of shots to lead the Roadrunners.
Both teams were physical as the two squads combined for 25 fouls on the night - 17 of those by Cal State Bakersfield.
Cal State Fullerton opens a three-match road swing this weekend as the Titans begin Big West Conference play in the Inland Empire, taking on UC Riverside on Sunday night (Oct. 4) at 6 p.m.