Women's Soccer

Women's Soccer Season Recap

Champions. Credit Matt Brown
Champions. Credit Matt Brown
Posted: Nov 21, 2019

 

By Collin Eacobellis

 

The 2019-20 Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team wrapped up their 14-3-4 season by making a history in the Big West Conference as the first to win the championship after finishing in last place the year prior. The squad also posted a 16-match unbeaten streak, the longest in program history.

On Nov.10, the Titans faced off against the CSUN Matadors in the Big West Tournament Final. In the first half, Fullerton displayed their impressive team chemistry by leading the game 4-0. As the final whistle blew, women's soccer grasped their second Big West Tournament Title win within the last three years. This did not take most by surprise as the Titans charged through Big West play without a single defeat during this year's regular season. This victory having brought back prominent hardware once again to Cal State Fullerton, also marks program history by being the program's sixth Big West Tournament Title.

The chauffeur of this victory bus leading the Titans is head coach Demian Brown. Through dominating the Big West offensively this season, Brown's team landed themselves as ranked No. 1 in the nation for corner kicks per match at 8.10. Overall, the team broke yet another school record by winning the most corner kicks in the program's history with 166. While the Titans proved that their footwork was unchallengeable in the Big West, key players went on to be awarded with additional accolades.

After the victory cheers, the Big West Tournament MVP was crowned to senior Atlanta Primus who scored her 11th goal of the season in the Championship game. Primus's season record of having scored or assisted in 17 of 21 games combined with ranking fourth in the nation with 13 assists; landed her the honor of 2019 Big West Midfielder of the year. While being recognized in the top five for assists nationally, she broke Fullerton history by recording the most assists in a player's career with 24. 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. With her goal at USC in the NCAA Tournament, Primus ended up with 25 goals (fourth-best in school history) for her career. With those goals and 24 assists (most in school history), she is fourth all-time in total points with 74.



Following in the footsteps of her upperclassmen, defender Megan Day received the honor of being awarded 2019 Big West Freshman of the Year. Day, the Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14, had been a vital asset to the Titans victories this year, helping the Titans post the best defense in the conference while also scoring the two match winners against UC Riverside and then against CSUN in the Big West Tournament Final.

Another young calf that proved she could run at the helm of the mighty Titans was Freshman goalkeeper Noa Schumacher. Having been named to the 2019 Big West All-Freshman Team, Schumacher finished the season with nine shutouts, including two of them being recorded in the Big West Tournament. Schumacher's 12 victories rank her fourth in the program's history for goalkeeper wins in a single season. Her teammates Allison Poole and Victoria Ryan would also find themselves recording shutouts as starting goalkeepers for this season. Through the combined stopping power of these three talented keepers and a stout defense in front of them, the program made history yet again through recording a total of 11 shutouts. This accomplishment would land the 2019 women's team as the second-best in total amount of shutouts in school history and the most since 2005 (12). She was also named Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28.



Two outstanding players that also had their hard work and dedication recognized this year were senior Maddie Bennett and junior Haley Brown. Bennett already had been awarded Offensive Player of the Week on Sep. 9 and Sep. 30 was selected as the 2019 All-Big West First Team honoree. She ended the season ranked third in the Big West in points per game at 1.55., while placing No. 3 in school history for match winners in a single season with four goals. Her 31 points (12 goals, 7 assists) rank as the sixth-best total for a single season in school history. Brown was third on the team in goals with seven and second in assists at nine, the fifth-best assist total in school history for a single season. She also scored two-match winning goals on the year, including the winner against CSUN to secure the Big West Championship in the regular season.

In the midfield, sophomore Kaya Hawkinson on the other end of the spectrum was selected as the 2019 All-Big West Honorable Mention. Throughout the season she recorded the most minutes on the pitch just behind junior defender Delaney Dombek Lindahl, and aided the team with four assists followed with by her first collegiate goal in the Big West Tournament Final. One of Hawkinson's midfielder partners, Alba Barrios, did not receive any individual accolades but the team captain started every match for the Titans and was a key reason for the team's success this season, especially after she battled back from a knee injury that caused her to miss the 2018 season. Check out her story here.

Lindahl, an All-Big West Second Team honoree, along with Day and fellow freshman defender Meghan Schroh formed a strong back line that posted 11 shutouts on the year.
 
The Titans faced the No. 9 USC Trojans in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and ultimately lost to bring a remarkable season to a close.

HIGHLIGHTS 

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.

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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).

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