Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State
Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013 | 6:00 PM
George Allen Field
Long Beach , Calif.
Live Stats |
Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine
Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013 | 2:00 PM
Anteater Stadium
Irvine , Calif.
Live Stats |
KICK OFF: Currently sitting at third in the Big West Conference standings, Cal State Fullerton will close the regular season on the road at Long Beach State (Thursday) and UC Irvine (Sunday). With 10 points, the Titans are still trying to lock up one of two remaining spots in the Big West Conference Tournament as Cal Poly and UC Irvine have already secured two positions. The Titans control their own destiny, and a win at LBSU on Thursday would clinch a spot as well as CSF's eighth appearance in the Big West Conference Tournament.
There are six teams still fighting for the remaining two spots in the Big West Tournament. The tournament, which produces the Big West's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament, will be held at Titan Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 7 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 10 (championship). The Titans earned the right to host after winning the 2012 regular season championship.
IN THE POLLS: Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Irvine are not currently listed among the nation's top 25 entering this week's contests, however, the Anteaters rank fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America West Region rankings, followed by Nov. 6 LBSU and No. 10 Fullerton.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics) and Twitter (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's soccer team has established its own Facebook and Twitter presence. Search for "Cal State Fullerton Women's Soccer" on Facebook or follow them on Twitter at @CSUF_WSoccer.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?": Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, Cal State Fullerton's home matches, as well as selected road contests, can be heard live over the Internet at FullertonTitans.com. Veteran broadcaster Mike Martinez will have the play-by-play. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of the newly redesigned FullertonTitans.com and enjoy the action.
"CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?": For the sixth consecutive year, institutions will air select matches on BigWest.TV, including all Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara women's soccer contests. For the 2013 season, all BigWest.TV events will air free of charge. Head to www.bigwest.org/this week for weekly event schedules.
I NEED STATS, STAT!: Live stats will be available for all of Cal State Fullerton's home matches and selected road contests throughout the year. Follow along by accessing the links on the women's soccer schedule page at FullertonTitans.com.
"O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!": Cal State Fullerton junior midfielder Chelsey Patterson has been named team captain for the 2013 season.
LONG BEACH STATE BRIEFLY: Long Beach State enters the week tied for fourth in the Big West standings and with two wins, LBSU would secure its seventh Big West Tournament appearance and fourth-straight double-figure win campaign. The 49ers are also one win away from notching the program's 200th victory.
SERIES NOTES: Long Beach State leads the all-time series against Cal State Fullerton by a slim, 8-7, margin...dating back to 1998, Cal State Fullerton holds a record of 6-2 at Long Beach State with the last road win, a 2-0 shutout on Oct. 22, 2009…in the last meeting between the two programs, Christina Burkenroad took a touch from teammate Nikki McCants and buried the go-ahead score to the left post in the 88th minute lifting the host Titans to a 2-1 upset victory over No. 21 Long Beach State on Sept. 30, 2012 at Titan Stadium.
UC IRVINE BRIEFLY: UC Irvine enters the week with 15 points, and has already clinched a spot in the Big West Tournament with just one match to play as UCI closes the season by hosting Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m., Sunday. UCI can finish no worse than third in the Big West.
SERIES NOTES: Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series against the Anteaters 10-7-4, although the Titans are winless (0-3-2) against UC Irvine in the last five meetings between the two programs...the last meeting between the two programs resulted in a 1-1 tie in the semifinals of the 2012 Big West Conference Tournament, but the Titans advanced in a penalty kick shootout, after Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Katie Pulliam made, perhaps, the three biggest saves of her career against host UC Irvine. Summoned from the bench after 110 minutes , she stopped all three Anteater penalty kicks at Anteater Stadium.
"THE SUSPENSE IS TERRIBLE... I HOPE IT'LL LAST": Don't leave early, there's plenty of soccer left to play. It's almost become routine for the Titans to play an overtime period or two this season as they have done seven times thus far in 2013 -- surpassing the total from all of 2012 and four shy of their NCAA record-tying 11 overtime matches in 2011. The Titans remain unbeaten in overtime (3-0-4) and are 13-10-18 (.525) in extra time during Head Coach Demian Brown's six-plus seasons.
"WAIT A MINUTE. STRIKE THAT. REVERSE IT.": As Fullerton opened its 2013 season, the offense struggled to find its legs, scoring just five times in its first eight contests (3-3-2 record). The Titans reversed that trend, scoring eight times during their five-match unbeaten streak from Sept. 22-Oct. 6 (3-0-2 record), including multiple goals in three of those matches.
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Cal State Fullerton has made it a habit of scoring late this season, netting nine of its 15 goals -- three of those going for "golden goal" game-winners -- in the 70th minute or later, including a pair against Hawai'i (Oct. 4) and Cal State Northridge (Oct. 6). Morgan Batcheller, who had the game-tying goal against the Matadors in the 72nd minute on Oct. 6 (and had another in the 108th minute at USC earlier in the year), has two of the seven goals, heading up a group that includes Ali White (74' at BYU), Rebecca Wilson (71' vs. Montana), Brianna Chapman (89' vs. LMU), Janali West (74' vs. Gonzaga), Summer Chavez (93' vs. Hawaii), Nikki McCants (88th vs. UC Santa Barbara) and Erica Mazeau (110th minute vs. UC Davis).
HOME COOKING: Fullerton's 1-0 overtime win over UC Davis last Sunday moved the Titans to 7-1-3 within the friendly confines of Titan Stadium, surpassing their 2011 mark of 6-4-2 on their home turf. The record for most home wins was set in 1996 (10-5) and later matched by the 2005 squad (10-1).
HELPING HERSELF TO THE RECORD BOOK: Another match, another assist for Erica Mazeau. Her corner kick assisted Nikki McCants' game-winning goal in the 88th minute against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20. The assist was 13th of the senior's career, placing her in a two-way tie for eighth on the school's all-time list in the category. Mazeau stands just five back of co-record holders Dolores Browning (1995-98) and Kellie Cox (2001-05) for the top spot.
WELL, THAT WAS QUICK: Summer Chavez's strike just 2:35 into overtime against Hawai'i on Oct. 4 was the sixth-fastest overtime goal by a Titan in school history and the quickest since JeAnne Mazeau scored just 58 seconds into the first extra time period at Cal State Northridge on Oct. 5 of last season.
NUMBER 10... Nikki McCants became the 10th different Titan to score a goal this season with her volley in the 88th minute against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20 -- the fourth time in the last seven goals that a new Fullerton player has put their name into the scoring column. Only three players (Erica Mazeau, Christina Burkenroad, and Morgan Batcheller) have scored multiple times this season.
THE 200 CLUB: With her 12 saves this on the opening weekend of Big West play, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic joined a very select group in Cal State Fullerton women's soccer history, becoming only the third keeper to eclipse the 200-save plateau for a career. Adding three saves last Sunday against the Aggies, Maricic's 220 career saves rank behind only Laura Janke's 235 stops from 2000-03 and Karen Bardsley's school-record 312 saves from 2002-06 on the all-time list. In addition, Maricic's 79 saves this season rank seventh on the single-season chart and mark a career-best for the Alta Loma, Calif., native.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: If the season ended today, Maricic's .878 save percentage would be a school record, eclipsing the mark of .848 set by Karen Bardsley in 2006. Maricic has allowed just 11 goals in 95 shots on frame this season which, right now, stands as the fewest goals allowed by a Fullerton starting keeper since Bardsley let in just 13 goals in 2005.
ALL TIED UP: The Oct. 6 draw against Cal State Northridge marked the eighth career tie with Maricic in net -- far and away the all-time record for a Fullerton keeper, doubling up the previous mark held by Bardsley and Shannon Simpson (2007-10), who each had four decisions that ended in draws during their careers.
MINUTE-WOMAN: With her 104-plus minutes played last Sunday, Maricic solidified her hold on the No. 2 spot with 5,977 career minutes played between the pipes, standing just 418 back of career leader Karen Bardsley (6,395 minutes from 2002-06).
ELSEWHERE...: Lindsey Maricic also ranks among the school's top five in saves per game (5th - 4.00), save percentage (2nd - .802), goals against average (3rd - .981), and wins (t2nd - 24).
#WINNING: Erica Mazeau's assist on Nikki McCants' game-winner against UC Santa Barbara last Sunday was her third game-winning assist of the season (tied for third on the school's single-season list) and the sixth of her career, placing her in a tie for second on Fullerton's all-time list -- three back of Kellie Cox's career mark of nine from 2001-05.
"THIS" CLOSE: Fifteen of Cal State Fullerton's 17 matches this season have been decided by a single goal or fewer, save for a 3-1 loss at No. 6 BYU in the season opener on Aug. 23 and a 2-0 win over Montana on Sept. 1 at home.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: How does the Titans' defense stand up nationally, you ask? Among all 323 NCAA programs, the Titans rank No. 8 in the nation in save percentage (.880), while ranking 26th in goals against average (0.655). Individually, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic ranks among the top 100 in four different categories: No. 14 in save percentage (.878), No. 82 in saves (79), No. 56 in saves per game (5.27), and No. 27 in goals against average (0.676).
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): Fullerton's defense has emerged as one of the best in the league, ranking atop the Big West statistical rankings in fewest goals allowed (12), goals against average (0.65), and saves (88), while standing tied for second in shutouts (7). If they keep this up, the Titans could challenge the school record for fewest goals allowed in a season (15 in 2005). Cal State Fullerton has not allowed a goal in its last 237-plus minutes on the field.
BE AGGRESSIVE, B-E AGGRESSIVE: Cal State Fullerton, whistled for a Big West leading 221 fouls this season, has been the aggressor on the pitch thus far, racking up 14 matches with 10 or more fouls and leading the opposition in that category in 13 of its 17 contests this season -- including a season-high 27 fouls on Sept. 15 against Utah State. Only Fresno State (23-11), Gonzaga (15-12), UC Riverside (9-5 and UC Davis (19-11) have "out-fouled" the Titans this season.
TOP DRAWER RANKING: Erica Mazeau, Lindsey Maricic and Morgan Batcheller were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Top 20 List for the Big West Conference.