Nov. 8, 2008

Box Score

Riverside, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton wrapped up its 2008 men's soccer season Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 Big West Conference victory at UC Riverside.

Fullerton (5-14-1, 2-7-1) picked up the first goal of the match with just over 29 minutes gone in the first period when Nick Posthuma stole the ball at the top of the Highlanders' box slotting the ball past UC Riverside (4-15-1, 1-9-0) keeper Ryan Schmitz. That score held up through the first half, but with 11:11 gone in the second, the Titans struck for their second goal of the day as Jose Gomez and Shay Spitz connected on a give-and-go that resulted in Spitz's fourth goal of the season.

Les than two minutes later, Fullerton made it 3-0 as Riverside nativve Jacob Shumway, playing in his final game as a Titan, slotted a ball from midfield between Highlanders defenders that Ryan Kaylor turned into a one-on-one opportunity and his first goal of the year.

The game took a physical turn the remainder of the way with the Titans picking up two yellow cards and a red, and the Highlanders collecting a yellow card of their own. Cal State Fullerton's red card came with just under 25 minutes remaining, giving UCR a man advantage the rest of the way.

"With all the disappointment that we have endured it was a great way to end our season and a wonderful send off for our seniors," said Head Coach Bob Ammann. "I was pleased that our focus stayed the path up until the final minutes of the game. With the addition of the 3 goals today we scored 14 goals in the final 7 games after only scoring 9 in our first 13.

"We definitely have experienced the cruelty of our sport at different times this season but today's result was a much better reflection of the quality of our play and our potential. We clearly are disappointed in the season but also need to take solace in the fact that the Big West is the best conference in the West Region this year and one of the top conferences in the country. Our improvement is encouraging and something that we will look to build on over the Spring in preparation for next season."

The Highlanders finally converted with 2:22 left in the match as Doug Thrasher found Michael Galland for his first goal of the season to beat Tyler Andrews. Kevin Puder shut out UCR for the first 87 minutes.

With the win, the Titans nailed down sixth place and left the Highlanders in seventh.