Weekly Release (PDF)
Sacramento State @ Cal State Fullerton
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015 | 7:00 PM
Titan Stadium • Fullerton, Calif.
TV: None
Live Video: www.FullertonTitans.com
Live Stats: www.FullertonTitans.com
Audio: www.FullertonTitans.com
UC Davis @ Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015 | 7:00 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 kicks off Big West Conference play hosting Sacramento State and UC Davis this weekend.
The Hornets will visit Titan Stadium Thursday night at 7 p.m. while the Aggies will take a trip to Fullerton on Saturday night, also at 7 p.m.
COME SEE THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton students receive free admission to Titan home games with their Titan I.D. card.
OPPONENTS & HISTORY
Sacramento State | 7:00 p.m. | Thursday, Oct. 1 | Titan Stadium
Sacramento State comes to Fullerotn winning three of their last five games, including back to back shutouts against Pacific and Saint Mary's. The Hornets are currently 3-4-1 heading into Big West play after finishing with a conference record of 4-5-1 in 2014.
Head to Head: The Titans and Hornets last met in 2014 when a golden goal from Sacramento State in the 105th minute shutout the Titans at Hornet Field. Fullerton held a 22-9 shot advantage while the Hornet goalkeeper logged 11 saves on the day.
UC Davis | 7:00 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 3 | Titan Stadium
UC Davis will be traveling to UC Riverside for their first Big West Conference match on Thursday night prior to heading to Titan Stadium on Saturday night.
Head to Head: The last meeting between the two teams occurred when the Titans eliminated the Aggies in the first round of last season's Big West Tournament in a 2-1 victory, the start of the Titans' road to their Big West Tournament Championship.
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.
QUICK HITS
• Cal State Fullerton ranks fourth in goals in the Big West with 14.
• The Titans rank third in goals allowed with letting only 10 hit the net thus far this season.
• Cal State Fullerton and David Rodriguez Elias lead the Big West in shutouts logging the fourth of the season against Grand Canyon.
• Diego Sanchez is tied for second in the Big West with five goals on the year.
INTO THE BIG WEST WE GO
Cal State Fullerton heads into Big West play with their best record since 2011, recording an above .500 record of 5-4.
SANCHEZ LEADING THE PACK
Sophomore Diego Sanchez currently leads the Titans with five goals on the year, scoring a goal in each match this past weekend. The midfielder has scored at least one goal in four of the last six games and is tied for second in the Big West in goals.
DAVID SHUTTING THEM OUT
Junior goalkeeper David Rodriguez Elias is getting comfortable in the net, playing all 810 minutes this season, surpassing his season total last year of 619 minutes. Rodriguez Elias has posted a 1.11 goals against average while managing 29 saves and a Big West leading four shutouts. The Huntington Beach native had a career night against Utah Valley where he recorded seven saves and also logged his fourth shutout of the year against Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon.
FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT
Freshmen Brandon West and Ross McPhie have made an impact in the Titans' offense, each recording two goals apiece to stay behind Sanchez's team-leading five goals. McPhie logged his first game-winning goal in Sunday's shutout against Grand Canyon, while West has logged two game-winners this season.
BACK LINE COMING IN STRONG
The Cal State Fullerton defense saw some new faces in the starting lineup and proved to be a success. Junior defenders Zach Bryan and Mitchell Bell found their way into the starting lineup, holding up the back line that allowed only four shots, with none of them being on goal against UTRGV. Only a week later, the Titans held Grand Canyon to only five shots en route to Fullerton's fourth shutout of the season.
FRESH BLOOD
Freshman Brandon West is the first Titan in history to earn Big West Player of the Week honors as a freshman. The forward scored the first goal of his career against George Washington and had the assist in the game-winning goal in Sunday's comeback victory over Santa Clara to earn him the nod.
I SCORE, YOU SCORE, WE ALL SCORE!
Seven different Titans have scored this season to total the team's 11 goals, five Titans scoring their first career goals.
Freshmen Brandon West, Michael Lopez and Ross McPhie scored their first goals in a Titan uniform in a 3-0 shutout over George Washington. Transfer Ruben Alvarez and sophomore Nicolo D'Amato scored the first goals of their careers as in a comeback victory against Santa Clara and in a 3-0 victory over San Francisco, respectively.
PRESEASON MATCH UPS
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.
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.
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.
