Box Score (PDF)
Highlight: Tala Haddad's Goal in Second Minute
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton had to wait 307 minutes between goals but Tala Haddad's masterpiece in the second minute was enough for the Titans to secure a 1-0 victory over San Jose State Sunday afternoon at Titan Stadium.
The win snapped a three-match losing streak for the Titans (2-3-0), all by way of shutout. Fullerton had not scored a goal since Nano Oronoz's header in the 55th minute of Fullerton's opening night victory over Saint Mary's on Aug. 19.
"This is a good game for us to finish on the weekend," said Titans Head Coach Demian Brown. "For the program to get their first clean sheet, for us to win against a very good San Jose State team is a very positive step in the right direction and its something that we needed. We needed to reward ourselves for hard work and I thought the women did a good job of that today."
The Titans snapped their scoreless streak almost immediately, taking a 1-0 lead in the second minute of play. After a foul at midfield, Lindsay Stasinis sent a ball into the Spartans' (2-2-1) box, where it deflected off the head of a defender and then found it's way to Haddad. After one touch to control the ball, Haddad fired a perfect strike to the upper right-hand corner of goal, beating Spartans goalkeeper Paige Simoneau to put Fullerton up 1-0 early.
"I know I'm going to get that opportunity by being a left back," Haddad said. "Either from getting it off of a corner or it getting kicked out from the box so I was ready for it and I just shot it with confidence."
Fullerton's defense did the rest to help preserve the team's first clean-sheet victory of the season. Despite getting outshot 10-6, the Titans allowed just two shots on goal; one in each half. They blocked five shots overall as a team.
Goalkeeper Jennifer Stuart picked up her second victory of the season and first shutout, making a pair of saves including a point-blank save on a shot by Aliyah Jones in the 64th minute to preserve the shutout.
The Titans will host UAB, Oregon and UC Irvine next weekend at Titan Stadium in the Fullerton Tournament presented by Embassy Suites – Brea North Orange County. Fullerton begins with UAB on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. after Oregon and UC Irvine open the tournament at 5 p.m. UAB will present another test for the Titans as the Blazers come in having outscored their last two opponents 7-1.
"A lot of it is going to come down to what our team's defensive shape looks like and how organized we can get ourselves," Brown said of the matchup. "We're hopeful that we'll be able to get some players back from the injury list so that will definitely bolster us in the back."
The Fullerton Tournament wraps up on Sunday, Sept. 11 with UAB facing UC Irvine at 2 p.m. followed by the Titans facing Oregon at 5 p.m.
Notes: Haddad's goal officially came in at 1:41, which is the sixth fastest goal scored in Cal State Fullerton history and quickest since Connie Caliz scored 56 seconds into Fullerton's match against Long Beach State on Nov. 9, 2014… Haddad's goal was also the second of her career and first since her freshman season in 2014 when she tallied the game-tying goal against Georgia on Aug. 31, 2014. The Titans would go on to lose that game in extra time… The Titans scoreless streak officially lasted 307:34 from Aug. 19-Sept. 4, the sixth longest scoreless streak in school history and longest since Aug. 23-Sept. 11, 2009… Stuart notched her 14th career shutout, which ranks third in Titans history all-time behind Karen Bardsley (26, 2002-06) and Lindsey Maricic (16, 2010-13)… The Titans have still never been shutout in four straight games in program history.
