Oct. 17, 2008
IRVINE, CA - Cal State Fullerton freshman Janae Deas and sophomore Christina Murillo scored two minutes apart late in the second half to lift the visiting Titans to a 2-1 victory over host UC Irvine in front of 732 fans on Friday night at Anteater Stadium.
Fullerton snapped a two-match losing streak in improving to 7-8-1 overall and 2-3 in Big West Conference play. The Anteaters fell to 7-7-1 overall and 1-2-1 in league action with the loss.
After being burned late in their last four losses, this time it was the Titans' turn to provide some late game heroics in an attempt to reverse their fortunes.
After a scoreless first half, UC Irvine was the first to break through on the scoreboard as Milana Shabestari knocked home a cross from teammate Tanya Taylor in the 55th minute for the 1-0 lead.
Despite being outshot in the second half by a 12-4 margin, the Titans were able to put home the equalizer in the 76th minute as Deas netted her fourth goal of the year. The Colorado Springs native unleashed a blast from 40 yards out that was deflected in the box just out of the reach of goalkeeper Erica Quevedo to knot the score at 1-1.
It was Deas' fourth goal of the season, moving her into a tie with Stacey Fox and Tamara Dewey for the team lead.
Just two minutes later, Murillo took advantage of a loose ball in the box to net her third goal overall and her first game-winning goal of the season. The ball was mishandled by Quevedo in close quarters to the feet of Murillo, who punched it home for the 2-1 advantage.
Sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Simpson, who had missed the past five matches due to injury, started in net for the first time since a 3-1 victory over San Diego State on Sept. 26 and made three saves in the victory. Quevedo had two saves in the loss for the Anteaters.
Murillo, who scored a goal for the second straight match, notched a season-high five shots on the night, three of those on goal, to lead Fullerton's offense while Kate Berrini, the leading scorer for UCI entering the weekend, unleashed seven shots to lead all players.
Cal State Fullerton closes out the weekend on Sunday (Oct. 19) at 6 p.m. as the Titans host Long Beach State in a meeting of last season's regular season co-champions at Titan Stadium. The 49ers were 4-1 winners over UC Riverside on Friday night.