Nov. 3, 2006
Long Beach, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton sophomore Casey Schostag scored the game-winning goal in the 66th minute as the third-seeded Titans advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament championship match with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded UC Santa Barbara on Friday morning at George Allen Field in Long Beach, Calif.
Cal State Fullerton improved to 10-7-2 overall on the season while UCSB, who shared the regular season championship with Long Beach State, ended its season at 7-7-6 overall.
After the Gauchos' Allie Kueny converted on a penalty kick in the 64th minute to knot the score at 1-1, Schostag and the Titans struck back with the game-winner just over a minute later.
Junior Stacey Thompson fired a rocket from about 20 yards out at the top of the box that clanged off the crossbar right to the chest of Schostag, who settled the ball and fired to an open net on the right side for the 2-1 advantage.
The goal was the first of Schostag's career while Thompson was credited with her first assist of the year.
The Titans then withstood the Gauchos' offensive pressure as UCSB took six of its nine second-half shots in the final 24 minutes - three of those saved by Fullerton goalkeeper Karen Bardsley - to secure the win.
Fullerton took the 1-0 lead into the lockerroom at the half on another rocket by junior Candice Byler from 30 yards out. Byler dribbled down the left side and rainbowed a shot to the far post, looping it over a diving Katie Wright in net for her third goal of the season.
UCSB had a pair of golden chances off the foot of Genelle Ives, as her shot nine minutes into the match was tipped wide by Bardsley in net and another in the 58th minute in a crowd at point-blank range was pushed just wide.
Bardsley finished with seven saves for the match while Byler led the Titans with four shots on the afternoon. Ives had five shots on the match to lead all players while Wright made three saves on the day.
The Titans now advance to meet either top-seeded Long Beach State or No. 4 Cal Poly in Sunday's championship match at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Cal State Fullerton won its third consecutive match in the Big West Conference Tournament after losing its first three matches in the event... The Titans' 10 victories give them double-digit wins for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in six seasons under Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin... Fullerton improved to 10-3 all-time when scoring first and remained perfect at 6-0 when leading at halftime... The one-goal decision was the 12th for the Titans in their 19 matches this season - one short of tying the school record... Fullerton improved to 10-1-2 this season when allowing a goal or less... The Titans improved to 4-1 in matches played in Long Beach.