Oct. 25, 2009
FULLERTON, CA - Defense ruled the day at Titan Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Cal State Fullerton and visiting New Mexico played to scoreless draw in a non-conference women's soccer match in front of 424 fans on a sunny day in Fullerton.
The draw was the fifth of the year for the Titans, who moved to 4-8-5 overall on the season. The five ties are the most for a Big West Conference school since UC Santa Barbara tied the record (held by three other schools) with six draws en route to a 7-7-6 overall mark in 2006. The Lobos moved to 11-4-3 overall on the season.
New Mexico held an 11-6 advantage in the shot column, including all four scoring attempts in the two overtime periods, but neither team could dent the net. The Fullerton defense held the Lobos to just four shots on goal, all turned away by freshman goalkeeper Jessica Change, who was making her first career start and only her second career appearance since playing the second half of a loss to USC on Sept. 4.
UNM had a golden chance to end the game in regulation with just under a minute to play as Jael Fanning received a pass from teammate Jennifer Williams and angled a shot to the far right post. Change, up to the task, got a hand on the ball but it trickled dangerously close to the goal line where it deflected off the post before being smothered by a recovering Change.
Cal State Fullerton pushed the tempo all afternoon, drawing nine corner kicks to just three for New Mexico, but could not push through a chance in the box. Williams, the Lobos' leading scorer entering the match, led all players with four shots on the afternoon while Lacey Califano came off the bench to take a pair of shots to pace Fullerton.
The Titans close out the 2009 regular season next weekend as Cal State Fullerton host UC Davis on Friday (Oct. 30) at 7 p.m. and Pacific on Sunday (Nov. 1) at 1 p.m.