Titans Defeat Alumni in Annual Match

Titans Defeat Alumni in Annual Match

FULLERTON, Calif.—In Cal State Fullerton's final test before it begins the regular season, the Titans were able to outlast the Titan Alumni squad by the final of 4-1 Saturday afternoon at Titan Stadium.

"It's always good to see the old guys come back for this event," said head coach Bob Ammann. "Some of them have actually been training for a couple of days to get ready for this thing."

"But I think the most important thing was that no one was injured and everyone went home in one piece."

The Alumni squad looked sharp early, coming close to scoring on several occasions, as Nick Dodd (Titan alum from 2007-08) rifled one just over the crossbar in the 15th minute.

Jesse Escalante (Titan alum from 2009-12) had a good look at one in the 23rd minute, but brother and former teammate Bryan Escalante dove to make a beautiful save in goal to keep things scoreless.

The current Titans eventually got their act together, as junior midfielder Colin Okirie netted one in the 30th minute after the nice assist by Ritchie Gonzalez to spot Fullerton a 1-0 advantage.

Just before halftime, midfielder Ian Ramos added one more for Fullerton some, putting on a couple of moves before placing a ball in the right corner of the net to give the Titans a 2-0 lead.

The Titans would tack on one more in the 69th minute, as the younger Ramos brother decided to get in on the action, with Caide Ramos netting one off the assist by Sage Smith to extend the Titans' lead to 3-0.

Fullerton struck again just five minutes later, as Steven Ortiz scored off of the Dante Medina assist to make it a commanding 4-0 advantage.

However, the Alumni squad would eventually get on the board after Amir Shafii (2003-08) converted on a penalty kick in the 78th minute to make it 4-1 and deny the Titans a shutout.

Past Fullerton greats in attendance included Bob Ammann, Demian Brown, Tom Helmer, Eric Skavarna, Terry Murray, Joe Baeskens, Skyler Thuresson, Zoltan Nagy, Bryan Fisher, Matt Cowan, Scott Robbins, Jay Nettekovan, Roger Wadell, TC Valentine, Nick Postuma, Nick Dodd, Marty Blair, Amir Shafii, Ryan Kaylor, Gerard  Kennelly, Paul Stowitts, Jon Birt, Barry Pryor, Adam Reeves, Mike Lewis, Brent Barnes, Eric Escobedo, Justin Burney, Jameson Campbell, Gerzon Blanco, Jesse Escalante, Pete Kingman, Art Ramirez, Rich Davis, Herk Alcaraz, Lew Garcia, Lance Kramer, Nick Swart, Mark Nelson, Johnny Juarez, and legendary manager Al Mistiri.

The Titans will kick-off their 2013 regular season Aug. 30 vs. Memphis at 5:30 p.m. in Northridge, California.

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