FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton women's soccer will head to Los Angeles to play at USC in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 16, at USC's McAlister Field. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. This marks the team's ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament, six of which have been with head coach Demian Brown at the helm.
It will be the 14th all-time matchup between the two programs, two of which have come in the NCAA Tournament where Titans are 1-0-1 overall against the Trojans. The most recent matchup was a 3-3 draw at USC in 2015 where the Trojans advanced on penalty kicks in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Fullerton owns an all-time record of 3-7-1 in its previous eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The 2019 Women's College Cup will be held at Avaya Stadium in San Jose on Dec. 6-8.
Brown and his squad are 14-2-4 overall this year, 5-1-2 on the road and went 9-1-2 at home. Unbeaten in the last 16 matches, a program record, CSF won the Big West regular season title with a 5-0-3 record. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper and the squad allowed just four goals in conference play and never more than one in a match. Last week, the Titans also claimed the Big West Tournament Title, posting a 3-0 win over Hawai'i in the semifinal and a 4-0 win over CSUN in the final.
Senior midfielder Atlanta Primus, the Sep. 2 Big West Offensive Player of the Week and the 2019 Big West Midfielder of the Year, has scored or assisted in 16 of our 20 matches this season. She is second on the team with 11 goals, the third-best total in the conference. Her streak of six straight matches from Sept. 13 to Oct. 10 with a point (either a goal or assist) is tied for the second longest in school history. Primus is tied for fourth in the nation in total assists on the year at 13 and is tied for eighth in assists in per match at 0.65. She has tied the school record for most assists in a single season at 13. At 24 assists for her career, she has the most assists in school history. She's also tallied 24 goals in her career, equaling a 72-point total, the fourth-best mark in program history. Primus is also tied for fourth in school history with those 24 career goals.
Senior forward Maddie Bennett, a 2019 All-Big West First Team honoree and the Sep. 9 Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Sep. 30 honoree, is tops on the team with 12 goals including match-winning goals against Houston, Kansas State, UC Davis and Long Beach State. She's tied for 50th in the nation and No. 3 in school history for match winners in a single season. She ranks third in the Big West in points per game at 1.55.
Brown, the Sep. 16 Big West Offensive Player of the Week, has seven goals and nine assists on the year to rank her fourth in the Big West in points at 23 total. Her nine assists are the fifth-best total in a single season in school history. She's scored two match-winning goals on the year including the winner against CSUN to give the Titans the Big West title.
Freshman defender Megan Day, the 2019 Big West Freshman of the Year, was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 as she helped the Titans to two road wins. Her and her teammates allowed just one goal total in those two matches and she scored the match-winning goal at UC Riverside. She has scored two match winners for the Titans including in the Big West Tournament Final against CSUN.
Sophomore Kaya Hawkinson, a 2019 All-Big West Honorable Mention member, has four assists and scored her first collegiate goal from the penalty spot in the Big West Tournament Final against CSUn. She is second on the team in minutes played this season behind only junior defender Delaney Dombek Lindahl. Lindahl was named a 2019 All-Big West Second Team member for her work on a stout Titans defense.
Schumacher, who was named to the 2019 Big West All-Freshman Team and was the Oct. 28 Big West Defensive Player of the Week, has recorded eight shutouts on the year as the goalkeeper for the Titans and allowed just four goals in eight Big West matches, the best mark in the league. She also did not allow a goal in two Big West Tournament matches. She currently holds the fifth-best goals against average (GAA) in program history for a single season at 0.80. Her 12 wins are tied for fourth for a single season and eight shutouts are tied for third in program history for a single season. As a team, the Titans have recorded 11 shoutouts (Schumacher missed three matches due to injury), which is just one shy of tying the program record for most shutouts in a season at 12.
As a team, the Titans essentially lead the Big West in every offensive category. The squad leads the nation in corner kicks per match at 8.10. At 2.10 goals per matc, the Titans are ranked 33rd in the nation and first in the league as well.
The Trojans, who finished the regular season 14-4-1 and ranked No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, are making their 18th postseason appearance overall and sixth straight under Head Coach Keidane McAlpine. USC has never missed the NCAA Tournament since McAlpine was hired in 2014.
Together in LA. ��⚽️��
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) November 16, 2019
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Brown talked about the squad in-depth in this video here, breaking down the team by position group and talking about the non-conference schedule. Brown has won over 100 matches in his 12 years as head coach. He has steered the Titans to five Big West regular season championships (2007, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2019) and six Big West Tournament championships (2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019) representing the league as the Big West's automatic qualifier at the NCAA Tournament for five of the last seven years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019) in addition to the Titans' postseason trip in 2007.
Along with a strong crop of newcomers, the Titans also welcome back Alba Barrios from an injury that forced her to miss the entire 2018 season. You can read more about Barrios and her journey here. She has started all 20 matches for the Titans this season and played the fourth-most minutes of the outfield players.
PARKING
CSUF requires a parking permit for all weekday games. Beginning July 1st, parking on campus will be $10 for an All-Day permit Monday through Thursday 7:00 am to 10:00 pm Friday until 5pm. After 5pm on Friday, Permits are not required, as well as on the weekend. Park and Pay stalls Monday through Thursday 7:00 am to 10:00 pm (Friday until 5pm) are $4 for 1-hour, $8 for 2-hours. Permits can be purchased in parking lots at the permit machines and accept only major credit cards.
For more parking information or to purchase a permit online click HERE or go to parking.fullerton.edu.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (@FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's soccer team has established its own Facebook (Facebook/Cal-State-Fullerton-Womens-Soccer), Twitter (@FullertonWSOC) and Instagram accounts (@fullertonWSOC).
