March 28, 2008

FULLERTON, CA - The Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team will take on three teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament and a challenging slate of out-of-region non-conference opponents in 2008, Head Coach Demian Brown announced on Friday.

"I am extremely happy with this year's non-conference schedule," Brown said. "I feel that we have some great challenges against terrific out-of-region teams as well as local rivals. I am hopeful that this schedule prepares us sufficiently for another run at the Big West Conference title."

NCAA Tournament teams California, Santa Clara, and Wake Forest dot the Fullerton schedule for 2008 as the Golden Bears and Demon Deacons each gained the second round.

After opening the regular season against perennial West Coast Conference powerhouse Pepperdine, the Titans head to Berkeley, Calif., for the second straight season to take on Cal and Saint Mary's at the California Invitational before returning home to host Alabama and Santa Clara in the first of nine home matches in the 2008 season.

Cal State Fullerton then makes only its third trip to the East Coast in the history of the program as the Titans head to North Carolina to take on Virginia Tech and the host Demon Deacons at the Wake Forest Tournament in mid-September.

Fullerton then unpacks for an extended period as five of its next six matches will be played at Titan Stadium. The stretch opens on Sept. 19 against Southern Methodist before the Titans head to Salt Lake City to take on Utah. Matches against San Diego State (Sept. 26) and Hawaii (Sept. 30) open a stretch of four straight at home that also includes the team's Big West Conference opener against Cal Poly on Oct. 3 in a rematch of last year's conference tournament title game won by the Titans on penalty kicks after the two schools played to a scoreless tie.

Road matches at Pacific, UC Davis, and UC Irvine follow over the next two weeks before the Titans host local rivals Long Beach State and UC Riverside in back-to-back home matches on Oct. 19 and 26. Fullerton then closes out the regular season on Nov. 2 at Cal State Northridge before the start of the Big West Conference Tournament on Nov. 7 at the home of the regular season champion.

Coming off their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007, the Titans return 12 letter winners and seven starters off of last season's squad that clinched the program's fourth Big West Conference regular season title since 2001 and its third consecutive conference tournament crown. Brown also welcomes one of the largest recruiting classes in the history of the program to the field in 2008 after signing 12 players in the spring.

To view the complete schedule, please click here.