Cal State Fullerton is known throughout NCAA soccer circles for having very successful and nationally competitive men's and women's soccer programs. The men have competed in the NCAA Soccer Tournament 10 times, and the women nine times. But did you know that the men made it all the way to the NCAA Division I College Cup Final Four in 1993? This is how it started:
Following a disappointing loss to Washington in the 1992 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Final, the Titans were hungry to avenge the loss and demonstrate their true capabilities on a national scale. This served as motivation throughout their offseason workouts and preparation periods. Excitement was also high as the team would be playing in their second season in the newly-built Titan Stadium.
The 1993 Titans, helmed by head coach Al Mistri, were a tight-knit squad led by scorers Eddie Soto and Matt Bradbury, goalkeeper Mike Ammann, and defender Demian Brown. Many of these Cal State Fullerton teammates had played with or against each other in various southern California youth soccer clubs.
Current Titans women's soccer head coach, Demian Brown was a defender on the '93 team, and he had this to say: "We were exceptionally confident in ourselves. We weren't very tricky. We defended extremely well and countered very fast. Our overall team fitness was very high, and we could grind out wins."
1993 started off like a rocket for the Cal State Fullerton team, as they opened with a 6-0 record, including a 3-2 home win over perennial national power, North Carolina. The eyes of the college soccer world began to look at the Titans.
The regular season finished with Fullerton at 13-6-0, including wins over Oregon State, Washington, Cal, and UCLA. The Titans were now poised for an NCAA run in the 32-team Men's Division I Soccer Tournament.
Wins against Fresno State, the University of San Diego, and the University of San Francisco by combined scores of 8-2 would propel Fullerton to the 1993 NCAA Soccer Final Four with a matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Brown had this to say about the win over USF: "It was a great example of the type of 'blue collar' mentality that we had. They had some real big names on their roster, and we weren't fazed or intimidated."
With Matt Bradbury out of the semi-final match with South Carolina due to a yellow card accumulation, the Titans fielded a starting 11 of Mike Ammann (GK), Kenny Hesse (D), J.D. McCormack (D), Demian Brown (D), Paul McDonnell (MF), Al Partida (MF), Tom Helmer (MF), Tony Jaime (MF), Ricky Rodriguez (MF), Mark Vaught (F), and Eddie Soto (F).
Try as they might, the Titans were unable to put the ball in the back of the net, and South Carolina went on to a hard-fought 1-0 victory. The Gamecocks would fall in the Final to the eventual NCAA Tournament champion, Virginia Cavaliers. The Titans completed their 1993 season at 16-7-0.
Goalkeeper Mike Ammann would finish the season with nine shutouts, and a 0.909 goals against average. He is currently #2 in the all-time Titan record book with 19 career shutouts. Ammann would go on to a successful professional career with Charlton Athletic in the English First Division and would play in the MLS for the Kansas City Wiz, New York / New Jersey MetroStars, and D.C. United.
After his playing career ended, Ammann would go on to a career in information technology sales and later founded his own goalkeeper academy in Virginia. Brother, Bob Ammann, would be the head coach of Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team from 2006 to 2013.
Eddie Soto was a two-time All-American and finished his Titan career at #3 all-time with 96 points (38 goals and 20 assists). Soto played professionally for several local teams and had brief stints in the MLS with the New York / New Jersey MetroStars and the San Jose Clash.
Following his playing career, Soto would serve as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UCLA. He would serve as the head coach of the U.S. Beach Soccer National Team from 2008 to 2020. Soto was at the helm of the University of San Francisco program from 2014 to 2018 and is currently the head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Matt Bradbury would finish his Titan career at #4 all-time with 89 points (30 points and 29 assists) and would play professionally for two seasons in the Czech Republic. He is currently the Technical Director for the Los Angeles Surf Soccer Club.
Demian Brown was a fleet-footed, hard-nosed defender for the Titans. A two-time All-MPSF selection, Brown began his college coaching career at UCI as an assistant for current Titans men's soccer head coach George Kuntz. He returned to Cal State Fullerton from 2004 to 2006 as an assistant coach to Ali Khosroshahin with the Titans women's program.
Brown assumed the helm of the Fullerton women's soccer program in 2007. In his 13 seasons he has been named Big West Coach of the Year three times and has led the Titans to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament in 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Brown summed up the '93 season this way: "The run was truly a testament to the hard work and commitment that seniors like Paul McDonnell, Ken Hesse, Mark Vaught and Mike Ammann put in leading up to that season."