Oct. 3, 2008
FULLERTON, CA - Visiting Cal Poly scored three unanswered goals, including Emily Hein's game-winner in the 86th minute, to help lift the Mustangs to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Conference opener for both teams in front of 512 fans on Friday night at Titan Stadium.
Fullerton fell to 5-6-1 overall on the year and 0-1 in conference play while Cal Poly evened its record at 6-6-0 overall and moved to 1-0 in Big West action.
Hein's game-winner came just three minutes after Morgan Miller tied the match with her second goal of the night. Miller took a pass from teammate Carissa Voegele that popped up behind the Fullerton defense and scored with a shot to the top of the net to tie the match at 2-2.
That set up Hein's heroics, as the senior put away a rebound off a blocked shot by Tiffany Gummow, scoring into the open net to the left side for her third goal of the year to cap the scoring.
Fullerton shot out of the gates quickly in the first half, scoring a pair of goals within two minutes of one another to jump out to the early lead.
Freshman Stacey Fox put the Titans on the scoreboard first in the 20th minute as a pass intended for her was deflected into space by a Cal Poly defender and the rookie put away a shot to the upper left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
Cal State Fullerton made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute as Geminesse Martinez sent a ball across the box to teammate Danielle Bitonti, who netted her first goal of the season with a shot to the right post from close in to make it 2-0.
Cal Poly answered back in the 30th minute to break-up the shutout as Hein's initial point-blank shot was saved by freshman goalkeeper Margaret Dupes, but the rebound found Miller running in on the back post and she chipped it in uncontested to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Mustangs outshot the Titans, 19-9, on the night (including an 8-2 lead in shots on goal) and held a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. Leah Morales led all players with four shots on the night while Christina Murillo had three shots to pace Fullerton.
Dupes made five saves in only her second career start - four of those from point-blank range to snuff out scoring opportunities for Cal Poly. Coral Hoover earned the win in net for the Mustangs without having to make a save.
Fullerton returns to the field on Sunday (Oct. 5) at 5 p.m. as the Titans take on preseason conference favorite and No. 23-ranked UC Santa Barbara at Titan Stadium.