WRAPUP
The 2014 Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team's season came to and end with a run into the NCAA Tournament for only the eighth time in Fullerton's Division I history, finishing with a record of 10-8-6 overall and 3-4-3 in the Big West Conference play. The Titans earned their first winning season since 2001 and won the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time in school history.
REGULAR SEASON REVIEW
After starting the season slow with losses to Illinois-Chicago, San Francisco, and Detriot, a showdown with then 14th-ranked Maryland, Baltimore County was next on the slate. Against their first ranked opponent of the year, the Titans staged a miraculous comeback, fighting off a two-goal deficit to beat UMBC, 4-3, in double overtime on a golden-goal by senior Marc Fenelus.
The win spurred a season-high, four-game winning streak for Fullerton as the team went on to beat Santa Clara, Nebraska-Omaha, and Grand Canyon in its next three games before conference play began. Senior Garrett Losee was the catalyst for the Titan offensive attack during that four-game stretch, scoring three goals from his midfield position.
After losses to UC Davis and Sacramento State to open Big West play, Fullerton earned its first two conference wins against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. Robert Coronado and Mitchell Bell scored their first goals of the season in a 2-0 shutout of UC Santa Barbara before Dyllan Stevens tallied his first goal of the year, a 90th minute shocker, to beat Cal Poly 3-2.
After a 4-0 throttling of non-conference opponent Pacific, the Titans next game had implications beyond Big West Conference standings as head coach Georg Kuntz made his first trip back to Anteater Stadium after spending 19 years on the UC Irvine's bench. The game ended with a 1-0 Titan loss as UCI scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute.
A four-game winless streak after a 1-0 victory against CSUN on Oct. 22 put the Titans in a precarious situation to gain entry into the Big West Conference Tournament heading into the regular sesaon finale. Mark Vasquez gave CSF all the offense it would need in the rematch against CSUN on Nov. 5 as the game ended in a 1-1 double overtime draw that sent the Matadors home for the season and the Titans into the conference tournament as Fullerton finished third in the South Division with 12 points and the Matadors finished fourth with 11 points.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Facing UC Davis at Aggie Soccer Field in the first round of the Big West Tournament, senior Ian Ramos and Nigel Patterson combined for two goals in the final five minutes of the game to stun the Aggies 2-1.
The Big West Tournament Semifinals would take place at UC Riverside Soccer Field Nov. 13 with a trip to the tournament finals on the line. Ramos converted a penalty kick in the fifth minute that set the tone for the rest of the game. Fenelus and Diego Sanchez added a goal each to make the final score 3-0 to set up a showdown with UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium for the Big West Conference Tournament Championship.
The championship game did not disappoint, as the Anteaters and Titans played 110 scoreless minutes, setting up a penalty kick showdown to decide who would raise the cup as Big West Conference Tournament Champions. The Titans won the shootout, 3-2, behind Tournament MVP Jeff Salt's two saves and the victory handed Fullerton the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament to face San Diego at Torero Stadium in the first round.
After already playing the Toreros to a 0-0 double overtime draw earlier in the season, both teams were ready for a close contest. Ramos gave the Titans the early lead with a header in the 13th minute of the game to make the score 1-0. Fullerton held that lead until the 88th minute when a handball in the box was called on the Titan defense. San Diego tied the game on the first penalty, and would win the game on another penalty kick in double overtime (103rd minute), ending the Titans season in gut-wrenching fashion.
SEASON QUICK HITS
• The 2014 Titans posted a double-digit win season, to go along with their first winning campaign for the first time since 2001.
• The Titans finish the 2014 season tied for the school record for most shutouts in one season, both the 2014 team and the 1993 team finished with nine.
• Jeff Salt finished the season with a goals against average of 0.90, good for second place in the Fullerton record book, only Nart Arislanook posted a better mark in 1982 when he recorded a 0.82 goals against average.
• Marc Fenelus led the Titans in goals (7) and points (16) in 2014.
• Ian Ramos led the team in assists (5) and his 13th minute goal against San Diego in the NCAA Tournament moved the 2014 Titans into first place in the school record book for total season goals (34).
• Salt also tied Arislanook for second place in season shutouts with seven, trailing only Bob Amman who had nine in 1993.
NSCAA ALL-FAR WEST REGION TEAMS
After a senior campaign that included a second-team All-Big West selection, a Big West Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Ian Ramos was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Far West Region Third Team.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Titans made their eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament since making the move to Divison I in 1975, and its first appearence since 2000. Fullerton's all-time record in the 48-team tournament is 7-7-1, with its best finish coming in 1993 in the Final Four.
2014 ALL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Marc Fenelus (2nd Team)
7 goals • 2 assists • 16 points
Ian Ramos (2nd Team)
5 goals • 4 assists • 14 points
Garrett Losee (Honorable Mention)
4 goals • 2 assists • 10 points
Colin Okirie (Honorable Mention)
20 games played • 2 assists • 2 points
Gabriel Quintero (Honorable Mention)
24 games played • 1 assist • 1 point
Jeff Salt (Honorable Mention)
Big West Tournament MVP • 0.90 goals-against-average • 7 shutouts
TITANS IN THE BIG WEST
• First in the Big West Conference in shots with 361 and 15.04 shots per game
• Second in the Big West Conference in shutouts with nine. UC Irvine posted 10 shutouts in 2014.
• Second in the Big West Confrence in total points with 102 and a 4.25 average per game.
• Second in the Big West Conference in assists (34) and assists per game (1.42)
TITANS RAISE THE CUP
Fullerton, who was picked to finish last in the South Division preseason Big West poll, earned its way into the NCAA Tournament after winning a dramatic penalty kick shootout, 3-2, against UC Irvine in the Big West Championship game at Anteater Stadium.
SCHOOL RECORDS
• First place in the Fullerton record book for most goals scored in a season (34). Ian Ramos' header in the sixth minute of the first round of the NCAA Tournament game against San Diego gave the 2014 Titans sole possesion over the 1993 team.
• Tied for first place with the 1993 team for most shutouts in a season (9). Jeff Salt earned seven in net while David Rodriguez Elias earned two.
• Jeff Salt's 0.90 goals against average was good enough to tie him with Nart Arislanook for second place in the Titan record book for a season.
KUNTZ ERA STARTS WITH A BANG
With 10 wins in his first season on the Fullerton bench, head coach George Kuntz led the Titans to their first ever Big West Conference Tournament Championship while compiling the most wins in an inaugural season as a Titan head coach since Al Mistri won 13 games in his opening season in 1981.
STANDOUT STATS
• The Titans were undefeated in 2014 when scoring more than three goals (4-0-0), and when allowing under five shots (3-0-0).
• Fullerton remained undeafeated when taking a lead into the final half of play until its final game of the season against San Diego, losing 2-1 after taking a 1-0 advantage into the second half.
• The Titans first win of the season and first victory of the George Kuntz era came Sep. 14 against UMBC. The UMBC Retreivers went on to play in the CollegeCup Final four before falling to eventual national champion Virginia, 1-0.
FENELUS INVITED TO MLS COMBINE
After a senior campaign that included a second-team All-Big West selection, a Big West Tournament championship and a trip to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Marc Fenelus was the lone Titan to receive an invite to the six-day adidas MLS Player Combine held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Jan. 8-13. Fenelus will join Otis Earl (UC Riverside), Cameron Iwasa (UC Irvine), Sagi-Lev Ari (CSUN), and Marín Del Campo (UC Davis) as the Big West representatives at the combine.
