Oct. 28, 2010
NORTHRIDGE, CA - Cal State Northridge's Farryn Townley and Katie Russ scored five minutes apart in the waning minutes of the first half, helping lift the host Matadors to a 2-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night in Northridge.
The loss severely dented the Titans hopes for a Big West Conference Tournament berth as they fell to 6-12 overall and 3-4 in league play. After losing eight straight in the series, Northridge has now won three in a row against Fullerton and improved to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
Townley's sixth goal of the season in the 39th minute gave the Matadors all the scoring they would need in a shoot-out of a match that saw the two teams combine for 42 shots on the night - 22 of those by Cal State Fullerton in a losing effort. Townley took a long pass from teammate Melissa Fernandez down the right side and slammed home the game-winner to the left side for the 1-0 lead.
Fernandez also lent a foot on Russ' insurance strike six minutes later with just 30 seconds remaining in the half as her free kick was saved by Lindsey Maricic, but the Fullerton keeper was unable to corral the rebound. The ball found its way to Russ, who poked it home for her first goal of the year and the final 2-0 advantage.
After being outshot, 13-6, in the first half, the Titans turned up the offense in the second half, outshooting Cal State Northridge by a 16-7 tally, but they were unable to dent the back of the net. Matadors' goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo was up to the task, making six of her match-high nine saves in the second period to preserve the shutout.
Maricic was equally busy, stopping a career-high eight shots in the loss for the Titans, who were led by senior Christina Murillo's five shots on the night. Sophomores Brisa Gonzalez and JeAnne Mazeau also contributed four shots to the Fullerton attack which saw 10 different players take at least one shot on the night.
The Titans will look to close out the regular season on a high note, but will have the difficult task of doing so against Big West regular season champion and No. 12-ranked UC Irvine, which carries a 15-1-2 overall record, a perfect 7-0 conference mark, and a 15-match unbeaten streak into the contest on Sunday (Oct. 31) at 1 p.m. at Anteater Stadium.