Oct. 23, 2007
FULLERTON, CA - After a huge weekend that included wins over first-place Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge, the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team (9-6-1, 4-2) will head east to UC Riverside this weekend for a key Big West match-up against the Highlanders on Sunday (Oct. 28) at 1 p.m. The Titans enter the weekend tied atop the Big West standings with the 49ers at 12 points apiece, however, Fullerton has played one more conference match than the 49ers this season.
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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: Streaming audio and Big West TV video will not be available for Sunday's match-up at UC Riverside. Please visit Cal State Fullerton's official website at 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 the Highlanders are ranked nationally this week.
SERIES RECORDS: The series with UC Riverside is tied 3-3-1, but Fullerton has won two straight in the series after going winless in the series in four straight matches from 2002-05... The Titans defeated the Highlanders 1-0 in 2006 on a "golden goal" double-overtime game-winner by Brianna Buffington at Titan Stadium... Fullerton is 1-2 against Riverside on the road in the history of the series, losing the last two after a 4-0 win in the first-ever meeting on Nov. 9, 2001.
ABOUT THE HIGHLANDERS: UC Riverside heads into the weekend with an 8-7-1 overall record and a 1-3-1 record in Big West play, having lost its last two matches to Cal State Northridge (2-0) and Long Beach State (1-0)... Junior transfer Tessa Lennala (Miami) leads the team and ranks second in the league in scoring with 18 points on a league-high eight goals and two assists... Goalkeepers Deanna Borgelt (1.60 GAA, 52 saves) and Brittany Goetz (1.66 GAA, 22 saves) have both seen action in net with Borgelt seeing the majority of time.
"FEET" OF STRENGTH: Senior Stacey Thompson, who was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week on Monday afternoon (Oct. 22), had a "foot" in all three of Fullerton's goals in Sunday night's win over Cal State Northridge, scoring the game-winner and assisting on the Titans' two other goals in the 3-0 victory. The performance brought her season totals to three goals - which ties a career high - and five assists - which is a new career high and moves her into a tie for 10th on the school's single-season list.
WORK A 180-MINUTE WEEK FOR A LIVIN': For only the second time this season, the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team did not have to play an overtime match during the weekend thanks to regulation shutouts against Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. The only other time that the Titans had a 180-minute weekend was the second week of the year against No. 1 Portland and host Washington at the Husky Nike Invitational.
BUT STILL: Fullerton continues to lead the league with six overtime matches this year.
JUST ONE MORE: With one more victory in their last three regular season matches, the Titans will log double-digit victories for the fourth consecutive season and the sixth time in the last seven years dating back to 2001.
LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN: With Fullerton's 3-0 win over Cal State Northridge on Sunday night, the Titans extended their winning streak to three straight matches - the third time this season they have had a three-game winning streak. However, the past has not been kind to Fullerton as each of the two previous winning streaks have ended with one-goal overtime losses to Loyola Marymount (Sept. 20) and No. 6 Santa Clara (Oct. 12).
STINGY: The Titans have posted three consecutive shutouts dating back to their overtime loss to Santa Clara, outscoring its opponents 7-0 in that stretch. With a shutout against UC Riverside on Sunday, the Titans will tie the school record for consecutive shutouts set back in 2005 when they won four straight by a combined 11-0 score from Sept. 16-29.
SHAYLA "SHUTOUT" SABIN: Junior goalkeeper Shayla Sabin recorded her fourth and fifth shutouts of the season this past weekend - moving her into a tie for fourth on the school's single season list and tied for third in the league entering this weekend's play. Coupled with her two career shutouts logged in her freshman and sophomore seasons, Sabin's seven shutouts ranks fourth all-time in school history, just two shy of Suzy Strazzulla's (1995-96) career total of nine for third place.
NO SHOT FOR YOU: The Titans' defense was spot on Sunday night against Cal State Northridge, holding the Matadors to just four shots for the match - a season low for a Fullerton opponent in 2007. The Titans have held the opposition to single-digit shots five times in 16 matches this season.
OFFENSE THE BEST DEFENSE?: Junior Jenae Gibbens has become the latest "offensive" defender in Titans' history, scoring her fourth goal and ninth point of the year on Friday against Long Beach State, giving her the best offensive numbers for a Fullerton defensive player since Marlene Sandoval had four goals and three assists (11 points) as a senior in 2005.
THERE'S ANOTHER ONE: Redshirt freshman Danielle Bitonti became the 10th different player to score a goal for the Titans and the fifth to log her first career goal this season. The 10 different goal-scorers rank third in the Big West behind Long Beach State's 12 and UC Riverside's 11 different scorers.
TWO GOALS, NO WAITING: After scoring their last eight consecutive goals in the second half or later, the Titans didn't waste any time on Sunday night, scoring twice in the first half and adding another in the second half for good measure in their 3-0 win over Cal State Northridge. Still, almost two-thirds of Fullerton's goals this season have come after halftime (16-of-24), outscoring opponents 14-7 in the second half (plus two goals in overtime) as compared to just a 9-7 advantage in the first 45 minutes of play.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Sunday night marked the fourth time this season that Cal State Fullerton has scored three goals in a match this season, improving to 4-0 in those games.
SCORE FIRST, WIN OFTEN: Fullerton has scored first nine times in 16 matches this season, posting a 8-1 record in those contests. Seniors Lauren Cram, Brianna Buffington, and Stacey Thompson have each accounted for two of those "first goals."
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Junior Jenae Gibbens' rather unorthhodox throw-in for a goal in Friday's 1-0 win against Long Beach State made her the sixth different Titan to notch a game-winning goal this season, joining teammates Lauren Cram, Stacey Thompson, Kristen Boujos, and Brianna Buffington. Fullerton's six players rank third in the league behind Long Beach State and UC Riverside, who have had seven different players score game-winning goals.
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. That attendance, coupled with Sunday night's 575 fans in the seats against Cal State Northridge, gives Cal State Fullerton two of the top 10 attendance marks in the Big West this season.