Oct. 18, 2007

FULLERTON, CA - After splitting a pair of matches at home over the weekend, the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team (7-6-1, 2-2) hits the road for the sixth time in the last eight matches to take on league-leading and preseason conference favorite Long Beach State on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. before returning home to host Cal State Northridge in a rare Sunday night match-up at 6 p.m.

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: Streaming audio and Big West TV video will be available for Sunday night's match-up against Cal State Northridge only. Check www.FullertonTitans.com for box scores and game recaps which will be posted as soon as possible following each match.

IN THE POLLS: Neither the Titans nor their opponents are ranked nationally this week.

SERIES RECORDS: Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with Long Beach State, 5-4, winning two of the last three after falling, 1-0, to the 49ers last season at Titan Stadium in both team's first-ever appearance on national television... Fullerton is 3-1 all-time against Long Beach State on the 49ers' home pitch... The Titans also lead the series with Cal State Northridge, 9-1, having won the last six consecutive meetings with the Matadors, dating back to a 1-0 overtime loss at Northridge in 2000... The Titans have outscored the Matadors, 12-4, during their recent winning streak, however, four of the last five meetings have been decided by a single goal... Fullerton has never lost (5-0) to Northridge at Titan Stadium in the history of the series.

ABOUT THE 49ERS: First-place and conference preseason favorite Long Beach State enters the weekend with a 10-4 overall record and an unblemished 3-0 mark in Big West play... Friday will mark the 49ers' first conference game at home... Long Beach State has won four straight matches, outscoring the opposition, 9-3, in that stretch... The 49ers defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-1, in their only match last week... The highest scoring offense in the league is paced by Kim Silos' and Kristen Kiefer's six goals, while Silos leads the team with 19 points and seven assists... goalkeeper Liz Ramos sports a 0.77 goals against average and four shutouts to go with 38 saves.

ABOUT THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge enters the weekend with a 2-9-1 overall record and an 0-3 mark in league play, having lost its last five straight... The Matadors have been outscored 11-4 during their recent skid and are 0-5 away from home this year... Susie Mischenko leads the team with three goals and six points... goalkeeper Kellie Drenner has seen the majority of time in net, posting a 2.16 GAA and 38 saves in 10 appearances.

DO I GET PAID TIME AND A HALF?: In what seems to be a trend for the Titans, Friday night's match against No. 6 Santa Clara marked the second consecutive match and the sixth time this season that Fullerton has had to play an extra period. The Titans, who are 2-3-1 in overtime this season, stands alone atop the Big West with its six overtime matches and stands just one overtime match shy of tying the school record of seven set during the program's first year in 1993.

ROUSING SPEECH, COACH: Only the players know what Head Coach Demian Brown says during his halftime speeches in the locker room. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. Each of the Titans' last seven goals have all been scored in the second half and 14 of the team's 21 goals overall have come in the second period or later.

THANK YOU, FANS: Friday night's attendance of 739 for the Titans' game against No. 6 Santa Clara was a season-high at home this season and the 11th-largest crowd to see a women's soccer match at Titan Stadium since 1993.

BUFFY DOUBLES UP: Senior Brianna Buffington doubled her season goal-scoring total with a pair of strikes in Sunday afternoon's win over Pacific, including her second game-winning goal of the season. Buffington became the third Titan to score multiple goals in a single match this season, joining teammates Stacey Thompson (Washington) and Lauren Cram (Oklahoma).

IN THE TOP 10: The two goals also gave Buffington 12 for her Titans career - moving her into a tie for ninth with Michele Bannister (2001-02) on the school's all-time list. Sunday's game-winner also moved Buffington into a four-way tie for sixth place on the the school's all-time list with her five career game-winning goals.

SUCCESS IN LONG BEACH: Cal State Fullerton has won its last four consecutive matches played in the city of Long Beach, winning twice at the Big West Conference Tournament last season and taking down Long Beach State in Big West Conference games in 2004 and 2005. The Titans last loss in Long Beach was in 2002 as the 49ers handed them a 2-1 defeat.

SCORE FIRST, WIN OFTEN: Fullerton has scored first seven times in 14 matches this season, posting a 6-1 record in those contests. Seniors Lauren Cram and Brianna Buffington have each accounted for two of those "first goals."

DIFFICULT TO DEFEND: Fullerton has developed into a multi-dimensional offense, giving opposing defenses fits about who to focus on. Thanks to Tanya Slusser and Geminesse Martinez, the Titans have now had nine different players find the back of the net this season (the third-most in the Big West behind Long Beach State's 12 and UC Riverside's 11) and 11 different players tally either a goal or an assist in 2007.

MURILLO MAKES IMPACT: Cal State Fullerton freshman Christina Murillo has made an immediate impact with the Titans in her rookie season, scoring three times and ranking fifth on the team in points. With those three scores, she has posted the most goals for a Fullerton freshman since Erica Peschken scored three times during her rookie season in 2005.

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Freshman Christina Murillo became the fifth different Titan to notch a game-winning goal this season in Fullerton's 1-0 win over San Jose State, joining teammates Lauren Cram, Stacey Thompson, Kristen Boujos, and Brianna Buffington.

I'M HERE TO HELP: A lot is made about the person who scores the game-winning goal, but little is often said about those who help that person find the back of the net. We're here to change that. Six different Titans this season have posted game-winning assists in Fullerton's seven wins, including two each from seniors Nicole Scheid, Stacey Thompson, and Lauren Cram. Casey Schostag, Kristen Boujos, and Candice Byler have also had a hand (or foot, rather) in helping the Titans to victory with one game-winning assist each.