Weekly Release (PDF)

NCAA Tournament Bracket (Interactive) • NCAA Tournament Bracket (PDF)

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

Fullerton will be making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007) and its first since 2007, which was head coach Demian Brown's first year at the helm of the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer program after serving as an assistant coach for three years (2004-06).

FULLERTON AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Titans boast a record of 3-4 at the NCAA Tournament with Fullerton's best finish in 2005 as the Titans reached the third round before suffering a 2-1 loss to Virginia. 

In 2007, Fullerton's last appearance at the NCAA Tournament, the Titans were sent to top-ranked UCLA and suffered a 3-1 loss in the first round.

In four previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, the Titans have played UCLA on three occasions (0-3; 2001, 2006, 2007) and have been sent to Los Angeles to play the Bruins in the first round on two occasions (2001, 2007).

This will be the Titans first meeting against the Cardinal in postseason.

Fullerton's record in the first round is 2-2, including an 0-2 mark in first-round road games. Overall, the Titans hold a road record of 0-4 at the NCAA Tournament.

HOW THE TITANS GOT HERE: The Titans (8-6-7) clinched the Big West Conference's automatic NCAA Tournament berth after winning their fourth league tournament championship on Sunday courtesy of a 2-1 advantage in a penalty kick shootout against UC Riverside after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw following 110 minutes of regulation (90) and overtime (20).

Titan goalkeeper and Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player Katie Pulliam made three stops during the shootout, after saving two Cal Poly penalty kicks in the semifinals on Thursday evening. The Titans, the No. 4 and lowest seed at the Big West Tournament, ousted the No. 1 seeded Mustangs on Thursday night and eliminated the third-seeded Highlanders on Sunday. Fullerton was hosting the tournament at Titan Stadium after winning the 2012 Big West regular season championship.

The Titans' last Big West Tournament title came in 2007, the last time the event was held at Titan Stadium. Fullerton also advanced on penalty kicks in the championship match to eliminate Cal Poly.

IN THE POLLS: Stanford is currently ranked 17th in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America top-25 poll. Cal State Fullerton is not ranked.

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 SEE ME NOW?": A video broadcast of Friday's NCAA Tournament first round game at No. 17 Stanford will be available at www.gostanford.com.

I NEED STATS, STAT!: Live stats will be available for Friday's match at www.gostanford.com.

"O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!": Cal State Fullerton junior midfielder Chelsey Patterson has been named team captain for the 2013 season.

STANFORD BRIEFLY: Stanford (13-5-1) earned an at-large bid after a fourth place Pac-12 finish. This is the program's 16th-straight and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal has made five straight College Cup appearances, finishing as the NCAA runner-up in 2009 and 2010 before winning the NCAA Championship in 2011. Stanford fifth-year forward Courtney Verloo was named All-Pac-12 first-team honoree and led Stanford with nine goals and six assists for a team-high 24 points. She also has five game-winning goals.

SERIES NOTES: Stanford leads the all-time series, 1-0. The teams met on Sept. 17, 2004, with Marcie Ward scoring twice to lead the Cardinal to a 2-0 victory at the Stanford Nike Invitational. 

Stanford's NCAA History: The Cardinal has qualified for 16 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 23 overall. Except for the College Cup, Stanford hasn't had to travel during the playoffs since 2006, when it played its first two rounds in Santa Clara. The Cardinal has won its past 20 home NCAA tournament matches, has advanced past the first round the past seven seasons, and has reached the past five NCAA College Cups. Stanford's all-time NCAA tournament record is 39-18-5 (.669). Stanford is 12-0 all-time in NCAA first-round matches at home. This is the seventh consecutive season that the Cardinal has opened the tournament at Cagan Stadium.

TITANS ON THE ROAD: In eight road matches this season, Cal State Fullerton holds a record of 1-5-2. The Titans have been outscored on the road 10-5. Fullerton's only road win was a 2-1 double overtime victory at USC on Sept. 22, 2013.

TITANS VS. THE PAC 12: Cal State Fullerton holds a record of 11-25-10 all-time against the teams currently in the Pac-12. This season, the Titans have played three matches against Pac-12 opponents, finishing in a scoreless draw at Titan Stadium against Utah (Aug. 30), falling 1-0 to Washington State at Titan Stadium (Sept. 20), while Morgan Batcheller's golden goal led CSF to a 2-1 win at USC (Sept. 22).

BIG WEST HONORS: The Cal State Fullerton trio of Morgan Batcheller, Lindsey Maricic and Erica Mazeau were named to the Big West Conference First Team. 

Maricic became the third Titan to be named Big West Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the conference in saves, save percentage, and goals against average.

Mazeau is first Titan to be named Midfielder of the Year since Stacey Thompson in 2007. Mazeau capped off the regular season with four goals and six assists for 14 points.

Batcheller, just a sophomore, has started all 21 matches in 2013, and has helped anchor a Titan defense that leads the Big West in goals allowed and goals against average while also totaling seven shutouts.

Junior midfielder Chelsey Patterson was named to the Big West second team. Senior defender Kellie Bohner received honorable mention accolades, playing in 17 matches this season, while freshman Jazzmin Mancilla was named to the all-freshman team.

"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 10 times thus far in 2013 -- one shy of their NCAA record-tying 11 overtime matches in 2011. The Titans remain unbeaten in overtime (3-0-7) and are 13-10-21  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. Fullerton has scored multiple goals in only four games this season, and in its last nine matches, the Titans have scored six goals.

FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Cal State Fullerton has made it a habit of scoring late this season, netting nine of its 18 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 nine 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  two ties at the Big West Tournament last week moved the Titans to 7-1-5 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 as she was charged with the assist on Janali West's goal against Long Beach State on Oct. 31. The assist was 14th of the senior's career, placing her eighth on the school's all-time list in the category. Mazeau stands just four 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. Only five players (Erica Mazeau, Christina Burkenroad, Janali West and Morgan Batcheller and McCants) have scored multiple times this season. McCants' has scored three of Fullerton's last four goals, including two at the Big West Tournament. Her volley in the 37th minutes tied Cal Poly in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 7, while her header in the 14th minute put the Titans in the lead vs. UC Riverside last Sunday.

THE 200 CLUB: With her 12 saves 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 seven saves at the Big West Tournament, Maricic's 235 career saves tie Laura Janke's 235 stops from 2000-03 and trail Karen Bardsley's school-record 312 saves from 2002-06 on the all-time list. In addition, Maricic's 94 saves this season rank fifth 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 .862 save percentage would be a school record, eclipsing the mark of .848 set by Karen Bardsley in 2006. Maricic has allowed just 15 goals this season.

ALL TIED UP: The Nov. 10 draw against UC Riverside marked the 11th 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 110 minutes played in goal on Sunday Maricic solidified her hold on the No. 2 spot with 5,553 career minutes played between the pipes, trailing 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 - 3.98), save percentage (2nd - .802), goals against average (3rd - .94), and wins (t2nd - 24).

#WINNING: Erica Mazeau's assist on Nikki McCants' game-winner against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 20 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.

"THIS" CLOSE: Nineteen of Cal State Fullerton's 21 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. 15 in the nation in save percentage (.866), while ranking 27th in goals against average (0.696). Individually, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic ranks among the top 100 in four different categories: No. 17 in save percentage (.862), No. 82 in saves per game (4.95), No. 30 in goals against average (0.717) and No. 63 in saves (94).

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 (16), goals against average (0.70), and saves (103), while standing tied for third in shutouts (7).