Oct. 28, 2006
Northridge, Calif. -
Courtesy Cal State Northridge sports information
Cal State Northridge snapped a non-penalty kick scoring drought of more than 429 minutes and then erupted for two more scores for a 3-0 Big West Conference victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Cal State Fullerton.
The Matadors improve to 6-6-4 overall and 4-2-3 in Big West play, while the Titans fall to 5-11-1 and 1-7-0 in conference action.
Northridge dominated the offensive side of the ball right from the start. In the eighth minute, junior Matt Tracy took a shot off a loose ball in the box, but Fullerton goalkeeper Brent Douglas was there for the save. Two minutes later, the Matadors had two great chances off a corner by freshman Sunghyun Kim, but freshman Dylan Riley had a shot blocked, while junior Sean Franklin had a rebound attempt brush off the crossbar. In the 18th minute, the Matadors had a free kick, but senior Taylor Canel's attempt was blocked off the wall. A rebound try by Tracy would be saved by Douglas.
The Titans would hit a crossbar of their own in the 27th minute. Yaron Shlomi took a shot from 35 yards out that bounced off the pipe and over the top. In the 41st minute, Skyler Thuresson sent a ball onto the frame, but sophomore Kevin Guppy came up with the save.
In the 43rd minute, the Matadors broke their corner-kick drought. Canel sent a right-footed kick into the box. The loose ball found Riley, who scored his second of the season to the left post to make it 1-0 at 42:43.
Northridge continued to pepper Fullerton with shots in the second half, including an attempt by sophomore Moy Gomez that was stopped by Douglas in the 48th minute.
At 75:44, the Matadors took a 2-0 lead on sophomore Michael Clegg's first of the match. Franklin crossed a ball from the left to the top of the box to Clegg, who fired one past Douglas for his second of the season.
Clegg put the Titans away with his third of the year just eight minutes later. Guppy punted a ball the length of the field, which found Clegg in the box. Douglas came off his line but fell and Clegg had a wide-open net to make it 3-0 at 83:28.
The Matadors outshot the Titans 24-10. Clegg had a match-high five attempts, while Gomez added four. Guppy faced just one shot on goal from the Titans, playing the first 83 minutes before giving way to sophomore Peter Bomar following Clegg's second goal. Gabriel Farfan had four shots to lead the Titans on offense. Douglas made four saves in net.
The Titans visit UC Riverside on Wednesday afternoon.