Weekly Release (PDF)
San Francisco @ Cal State Fullerton
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 | 2:00 PM
Titan Stadium • Fullerton, Calif.
TV: None
Live Video: www.FullertonTitans.com
Live Stats: www.FullertonTitans.com
Audio: www.FullertonTitans.com
THIS WEEK
The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team is looking to extend their winning streak as they host San Francisco at Titan Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton students receive free admission to Titan home games with their Titan I.D. card.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
San Francisco | 2:00 p.m. |Sunday, Sept. 13 | Titan Stadium
The Dons finished in 2nd in the West Coast Conference in 2014 with an overall record of 11-6-2 under first year head coach and Cal State Fullerton All-American, Eddie Soto. San Francisco returns seven starters to their lineup, six of them being named to various All-WCC teams.
The Dons are currently 0-2 on the road, being outscored 0-7. San Francisco is also on a two game winning streak heading into Friday night's match at UCR.
Head to Head: The Titans gave up a game-winning penalty kick in the 72nd minute last season in their home opener against USF. The match drew over a combined 40 fouls, including one red card given to Colin Okirie to give the Dons the game-winning penalty kick.
BE A FOLLOWER
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (FullertonTitans) and Twitter (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the men's soccer team has established its own Facebook and Twitter presence. Search for "Cal State Fullerton Men's Soccer" on Facebook or follow them on Twitter at @CSUFMensSoccer.
NUMBERS GAME
• Cal State Fullerton leads the Big West Conference in goals with six on the year.
• Cal State Fullerton is tied for first in the Big West Conference with 51 fouls on the season.
• Goalkeeper David Rodriguez Elias ranks second in the Big West in saves with 10 on the year while logging his first shut out on Friday, Sept. 4 in a 3-0 victory over George Washington.
• The Titans are one of three Big West teams - the others being Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara- that have a .500 or greater winning percentage this season.
• Cal State Fullerton is tied for second in the Big West Conference with 44 shots on the season.
A season-high of 21 Titans saw the field in their first victory of the season against George Washington. Three Titans made their first appearances of the year - Zach Bryan, Roman Manning (first career appearance) and Nigel Patterson; while Alex Heilmann and Robert Coronado received their first starting nods of 2015.
A FRESH START
The Titans are off to their best start since 2011 when they went 2-0-2 in the first four games.
WELCOME TO THE BIG WEST, WEST
Freshman Brandon West led the Titans offense this past weekend to claim his first ever Big West Player of the Week honors. The forward scored the first goal of his career on Friday night against George Washington and had the assist in the game-winning goal in Sunday's comeback victory over Santa Clara.
I SCORE, YOU SCORE, WE ALL SCORE!
Five different Titans scored their first goals of the season this weekend, four of them being their first respective career goals.
THE RETURN OF EDDIE SOTO... AGAIN
Cal State Fullerton All-American Eddie Soto is currently in his second-year as head coach at the University of San Francisco. Soto will return to Titan Stadium once again on Sunday with the Dons after leaving Titan Stadium last season victorious over his alma mater. Soto finished his career with 38 goals and 20 assists playing for Fullerton from 1992-94. During the that time, Fullerton totaled a record of 42-20-2 making the program's deepest run in the NCAA Tournament – a Final Four finish in 1993 and following that with a trip to the quarterfinals in 1994.
Cal State Fullerton was put to the test this preseason with exhibition matches against No. 16 Cal and the U17 Mexican National Team. The Titans played a 1-1 draw against Cal with Diego Sanchez scoring the Titans lone goal of the match before netting another goal against Mexico in a 3-1 loss.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer team, defending Big West Tournament Champions, were picked to finish third in the Big West Preseason Poll.
UC Irvine, the 2014 regular season South Division champion, received five first-place votes out of the eight Big West head coaches for a total of 26 points. The Anteaters were also ranked No. 20 nationally in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll.
To round out the South Division, Cal State Northridge received two first-place votes while Cal State Fullerton, the Big West Tournament Champion, collected 20 points and one first-place vote. In the North Division, UC Santa Barbara heads the list with 30 total points while receiving seven first-place votes.
FRESH FACES FOR 2015
The Titans added 17 new faces to the program for the 2015 season including 11 freshmen and six transfers to absorb the loss of the 12 seniors from the 2014 class. All 17 new faces will look to make an immediate impact on the pitch for Fullerton as the program looks to achieve back–to-back Big West Tournament Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history.
QUICK HITS
• The 2014 Titans posted a double-digit win season and had their first winning campaign for the first time since 2000.
• The Titans finished 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.
• The Titans return 10 goals from last year with two apiece from Julian Okai, Robert Coronado, Diego Sanchez and Mitchell Bell while Dyllan Stevens and Nigel Patterson contributed one apiece.
• 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.
• Salt also tied Arislanook for second place in season shutouts with seven, trailing only Bob Amman's nine in 1993.
• Fullerton finished the season 5-2-1 at Titan Stadium while averaging an attendance of 752 per game at home.
ABOUT THE 2014 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Cal State Fullerton (10-8-6), led by first-year head coach George Kuntz won their first Big West Tournament Championship in school history. After finishing third in the Big West South Division regular season, the Titans beat UC Irvine in the championship game to give them the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Fullerton concluded its season with a heartbreaking loss in double overtime against the University of San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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
KUNTZ ERA BEGINS WITH HISTORICAL SEASON
With 10 wins in his inaugural season, Kuntz posted the most wins in his first season as head coach of the Titans since Al Mistri won 13 games in 1981. The 10 wins also led the Titans first winning season since 2001 and guided Fullerton to their first ever Big West Tournament Championship.
Kuntz logged the first win of his Titan career when he led the Titans to a 4-3, double overtime comeback victory over 14th-ranked University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Sept. 14. He later led Cal State Fullerton over his old team, UC Irvine, in the championship game of the Big West Tournament on Nov. 15 in a penalty-kick shootout victory, 4-3, giving the Titans the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
THE PRESSURE IS ON
In 2014, the Titans had 10 game-winning goals, returners Patterson, Stevens, Coronado and Bell each pitched in one.
