CEDAR CITY, UTAH - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's soccer team won 2-1 against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon at the Thunderbird Soccer Field.
This was just the second match ever between the Titans (3-1-2) and the Thunderbirds (5-1) and the first meeting since 2001.
The Titans fell behind early but showed their composure as they imposed their style on the game for most of the match after the early goal. They also shut down a Thunderbird offense for most of the game that had scored 22 goals and allowed just one goal heading into the game.
"What a gritty win for us today. I'm really proud of how we responded to our early mistake. Our women are showing a tremendous amount of resilience. We're looking forward to getting home and preparing for two Pac-12 opponents this weekend," said Head Coach Demian Brown.
The Thunderbirds took the lead in the 7th minute after scoring on a turnover by the defense. The Titans lost the ball at midfield on a defensive miscue that led to a breakaway 3-vs-1 counter and Kate Schirmer was able to beat Mia Ranson with a goal to the far corner.
The Titans found the equalizer in the 26th minute. Kaylin Raibon won a header and made a move to beat her defender and dribbled down the field and beat another defender. She whipped in a cross to Kaytlin Brinkman who perfectly one timed the shot through the Thunderbirds keeper's legs for the goal.
26' | GOAAAAAAAAAAAL! The Titans find the equalizer! Raibon beats two defenders on the dribble and finds Brinkman in the box who nutmegs the keeper! Game is tied at 1-1#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/IMeEZSEHID
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) September 4, 2022
Maddie Kline scored what would be the game winning goal in the 63rd minute. Her second game winning goal of the trip as she scored one late against Utah on Thursday. Isabella Cruz passed the ball to Maddie Kline into the middle of the field and she took a couple dribbles and rifled a shot past the Southern Utah keeper for her second goal of the season.
63 ' | GOLAZOOOOOOOOOOO!!! @maddiekline19 with an absolute banger to give the Titans a 2-1 lead!!#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/0NfT7IiyzU
— Titans Women's Soccer (@FullertonWSOC) September 4, 2022
The Titans outshot the Thunderbirds 12-to-8 for the match with 6 shots on goal vs 5 shots on goal. Mia Ranson made four saves for the game while her counterpart Megan Short also made four saves.
The Titans will take on two more PAC-12 opponents next week. They host Cal Berkeley on Thursday, September 8th. Kick-off is set for 7 PM for that game. And then they travel to UCLA on Sunday.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the women's soccer team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWSOC) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWSOC).