SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer squad fell to Sacramento State, 1-0, in its first conference road match of the season at Hornet Soccer Field on Friday evening.
"It was a defensive battle, although I felt we had very good possession for the mojority of the game we had one defensive breakdown and Sacramento State capitalized on it," coach George Kuntz said. "It's up to us to change these scenarios and creating more scoring opportunities. Credit to the team, they battled well."
The loss puts the Titans at 1-2-0 in Big West play and 5-7-0 overall on the year. Fullerton just hasn't been able to find a rhythm on the road this season as the Titans dropped their fourth true road match on Friday and sit at 2-4-0 overall.
With Paul-Andre Guerin making his first appearance back in goal for the Titans since Sept. 25, the Hornets (6-4-1; 2-1-0) tested the CSUF goalkeeper early in the contest as they drew a few corners in the first 10 minutes but the Fullerton backline held strong to keep the match scoreless.
In the 19th minute, the Titans got their attack going as Robert Coronado had the first shot of the game for Fullerton, but the junior's shot sailed just high of the post.
Minutes later, Ruben Alvarez put up a strong strike at goal the would go just wide of the post. Fullerton's leading goal-scorer Alex Heilmann checked into the contest for Alvarez right after the shot.
A huge moment in the first half came in the 40th minute when Sacramento State's Bert Corona's free kick from the top of the box was saved by Guerin to give Fullerton a little momentum going into the half.
Brandon West made a strong impact as he led the Fullerton counter attack following the save and collected his first shot of the match that went just high after checking in just five minutes before. Nicolo D'Amato also had a strong first half as he took four corner kicks for the Titans.
When holding opponents scoreless at the half, the Titans have fared pretty well this season as they collected a 4-2 record so far this year.
Coronado got the Fullerton attack going early in the second as he had a couple strong chances at goal, including the first shot on goal of the night for the Titans.
After a foul just outside the top of the box, Coronado lined up for the free kick and had a strong strike that went just wide of the net, keeping the match scoreless.
Now trailing, the Titan attack looked for a late equalizer and they almost found one from true freshman Rei Dorward. The Fullerton forward found himself with a chance to tie it for the Titans, but his shot to the left side of the goal was saved by Sacramento State's James Del Curto.
Fullerton's final chance to tie the match came on a free kick from about 25-yards out. D'Amato lined up to take the deep kick but the shot landed right into the keeper's hands and the Hornets held on to defeat the Titans, 1-0.
The Titans close out this weekend's road trip with UC Davis on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. The match will be played at Aggie Soccer Field and will be the 12th meeting all-time between both programs.
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