FULLERTON, Calif. – With senior night festivities taking place prior to the game, the Titans came out ready to play as they scored an early goal in the 20th minute but CSUN netted the equalizer in the 66th to end the match with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night at Titan Stadium.
"I thought we had a lot of possession, but I thought we let our guard down in the second half as they pushed the envelope and they went a little bit more direct," coach Kuntz said. "I think with the way we played tonight you can see a team that is much more resilient than the beginning of the season. Overall, I'm not disappointed in our team but I'm disappointed in our finishing. Our effort, possession and style of play was as good as anybody in the league but that doesn't count. All that counts are the wins and losses."
With the tie, Cal State Fullerton moves to 8-8-2 on the year and 4-3-2 in conference play. The Titans currently sit in second place with 14 points in the Big West South Division and still trail the Matadors (7-6-4, 4-2-3) by a single point with one match remaining for each team.
The opening minutes of the match didn't feature much action as both squads felt each other out and couldn't get much going in the attacking half.
Ross McPhie got the attack started for Fullerton as the midfielder saw CSUN's goalkeeper towards the top of the box and decided to play a chip shot over the keeper's head but the chance landed on the top netting.
In the 20th minute, the Titans drew a corner and Robert Coronado placed the kick right inside the center of the box where it found Corentin Ohlmann's head and flew right into the net to give Fullerton a 1-0 edge early in the match.
Minutes later, CSUN came close to knotting the score at one but senior David Elias made a diving save in front of the net as the ball went out of bounds to end the Matador threat.
Through the first 45 minutes, the match was as even as could be with both teams drawing one corner and CSUN holding only a one shot lead (6-5). The only statistic with a dramatic difference was the saves category where Elias took care of business in the first half with three saves to keep the Titans lead at 1-0.
In the second, Fullerton's attack stepped up a bit as Coronado and McPhie had some early shots on target but neither one could convert.
The best chance of the second half for the Titans came in the 60th minute when a Alex Heilmann header went off the crossbar and sophomore Ronaldo Pineda had a clear rebound at goal but his shot went high to keep the CSUF lead at 1-0.
In the 63rd minute, Gabe Robinson had a throw in from the right side of the box and put the ball right near the goal where it deflected off Heilmann's head and into the net for an own goal to tie the score at one.
With the momentum swinging in CSUN's favor, Titans Diego Sanchez and Rei Dorwart made a final push for the late-winner as Sanchez had a cheeky strike in the 85th but Matador Kevin Marquez made the save.
Dorwart found some room towards the top of the box and laid a beautiful pass to McPhie who had a clear chance at goal with the CSUN goalkeeper in no man's land, but his shot sailed high forcing overtime.
The Titans outshot the Matadors by a combined 10-0 in overtime while drawing two corners but efforts from Nicolo D'Amato and Ricardo Covarrubias went just wide to end the match with a 1-1 draw.
Overall, Fullerton outshot CSUN, 21-9, on the night as McPhie led the way for the Titan attack by finishing the match with six shots (three on goal). D'Amato and Pineda also added four shots apiece as well.
Prior to the contest, the Cal State Fullerton athletic department and men's soccer program honored seniors Ruben Alvarez, Sean Bieker, Jacob Perez, Oscar Torres, Mitchell Bell, Ricardo Covarrubias, Alex Heilmann and David Elias. Each player was saluted at midfield with their families.
"It's a very important night because it's a milestone for the guys because we're in an educational setting so we want them to get their degrees and have a quality experience with soccer," Kuntz said. "For us it's kind of a combination and most of this group I brought in so it's a special group. They've taken us a long way and helped us so much and they're passing the torch."
Up next for the Titans is their final conference match of the season on Saturday at UC Irvine. The match will begin at 7 p.m. PT and be played at Anteater Stadium. Fullerton defeated the Anteaters at Titan Stadium earlier this season by a score of 3-1.
For more information and updates on Fullerton men's soccer, follow @CSUFMensSoccer on Twitter and like our Facebook page (Cal St. Fullerton Men's Soccer).