Women's Soccer Looks to Tame a Pair of Lions
Sept. 8, 2011
FULLERTON, CA -
Complete Weekly Release - LMU/Columbia
KICK OFF: Currently in the midst of a three-match losing streak, the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team (1-3-1 overall) looks to reverse its fortunes this weekend at home as the Titans host LMU (Friday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.) and Columbia (Sunday, Sept. 11, 1 p.m.) at Titan Stadium.
FIRST RESPONDERS TO BE HONORED: In remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the devastating attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Cal State Fullerton Department of Athletics will honor members of our police and fire departments as well as other "first responders" prior to kickoff of Sunday's match against Columbia. As a way of saying "thank you," all first responders and their families will be admitted free to the contest by showing their badge. There will be a moment of silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the tragedy as well as honoring those who put their lives on the line each day to protect and serve our communities. Red, white, and blue ribbons will also be handed out at the gate to those fans in attendance.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES: Break out your calendars, there are changes on the horizon. For those making plans to travel south for Fullerton's match at San Diego, please note that the match against the Toreros originally scheduled for Sept. 23 has been moved up to Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
IN THE POLLS: Neither LMU, Columbia, nor Cal State Fullerton are ranked entering this week's match.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in Titans athletics by following us on Facebook (CSUF.Athletics), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) and Vimeo.com (vimeo.com/fullertontitans). In addition, the women's soccer team has its own Twitter; get the inside scoop at @CSUF_WSoccer.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?": Select Cal State Fullerton women's soccer matches this season can be heard live over the Internet at www.FullertonTitans.com thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet. Veteran soccer broadcaster Mike Martinez will have the calls live from Titan Stadium. To access the links, click on the headphones icon in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage at FullertonTitans.com. Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast.
"CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?": Thanks to a partnership between the Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network, live video of select Cal State Fullerton women's soccer home and road contests will be streamed live over the Internet via the BigWestTV platform. A monthly subscription of \$9.95 or an annual subscription of \$79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. For more information, please visit www.BigWest.org/TV or access the video player at www.fansonly.com/schools/bigw/allaccess/index.html.
"O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!": Senior Caitlin Mellano along with redshirt juniors Jennifer Smith, JeAnne Mazeau, and Stacey Fox have been selected by the coaching staff as team captains for the 2011 season.
LMU BRIEFLY: LMU enters the weekend at 4-1-1 overall following a split of its matches last week, posting a 3-0 win over Cal State Bakersfield and a 2-1 loss to Rutgers... the Lions have already outscored their opposition, 11-3, despite just an, 83-82, advantage in shot column... the offense is led by a trio of two-goal scorers (Tawni Martino, Linda Bakker, and Brittney Sanford) as eight different Lions have found the back of the net this season... Brittany Jagger has started all six matches in net, posting an 0.37 goals against average and 21 saves to go with a pair of shutouts.
FOR THE RECORD: LMU leads the all-time series, 7-6-1, having won the last two meetings, including a 1-0 win in Los Angeles last season... Fullerton last posted a win in the series in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament at UCLA by a 3-0 score... seven of the 14 all-time meetings have been decided by one goal with three overtime matches (Titans are 0-2-1 in those contests)... Fullerton is 3-3 all-time against LMU at home, having lost two of the last three.
COLUMBIA BRIEFLY: Columbia enters the weekend with an 0-2 record following losses to Hofstra (2-0) and St. John's (1-0) last weekend to open the season... the Lions will play at San Diego State on Friday before heading to Orange County on Sunday... Ashlin Yahr leads the team with four shots thus far this season as Columbia has been outshot, 21-16, in its first two matches of the year... Lillian Klein has posted a 1.50 goals against average and seven saves in two starts... the Lions return 23 letter winners and nine starters off last year's squad that finished 9-5-3 overall and fifth in the Ivy League at 3-3-1... Head Coach Kevin McCarthy is 143-119-34 in 17-plus seasons as head coach of the Lions.
FOR THE RECORD: Sunday's meeting between the Lions and the Titans will be only the second-ever between the two programs after Fullerton posted a 1-0 victory on a neutral field at the UCI Nike Invitational in 2000.
OH NO, NOT OVERTIME: For the third time in their first five matches, the Titans were taken to extra time last weekend as host Utah State eventually pulled out a 1-0 victory with a goal in the first minute of the second OT. The extra time has been especially harsh for Fullerton, which is winless in its last 11 consecutive overtime contests, posting an 0-4-7 record in those matches dating back to 2008. The Titans' last extra time victory was a 3-2 triumph over then No. 15-California on Aug. 29, 2008 in Berkeley, CA. Following Sunday's loss in Logan, Fullerton is 16-22-21 (.449) in overtime matches overall in the history of the program and 8-5-14 (.556) all-time in those that have gone to a second overtime period. It's been somewhat of a trend as of late as the Titans have gone to overtime 20 times in 84 matches in the four-plus seasons under Head Coach Demian Brown - including a school-record eight times in 2007 - posting a 4-7-9 mark in those contests.
THANK YOU (AGAIN!), FANS: Cal State Fullerton played in front of 845 fans in its match against Pepperdine on Aug. 26 - the eighth-largest crowd in school history and the most since the Titans drew 1,187 for a Fox Soccer Channel nationally televised match against rival Long Beach State in 2006. It was the second top-15 home crowd that Fullerton has played in front of this season after 770 fans were in attendance for the Titans' win over Long Island on Aug. 21, which stands as the 13th-largest in the history of the program.
CONFERENCE CALL: Following last weekend's defeat on the road at conference newcomer BYU, the Titans are 20-41-4 (.344) all-time against current conference members of the West Coast Conference and are winless in their last nine matches (0-8-1) against WCC foes dating back to a 2-0 shutout of Saint Mary's on Aug. 31, 2008... Sunday's match-up with Columbia will be only the second meeting ever with an Ivy League school and the first since 2000 when Fullerton posted a 1-0 victory over Columbia in a tournament host by UC Irvine.
PUT A RING ON IT: Former Cal State Fullerton standout Kandace Wilson took home a second Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) title in as many seasons, part of a Western New York Flash squad that prevailed over the Philadelphia Independence in penalties on Aug. 27. She is one of seven players on the Flash roster that won the 2010 WPS title with the FC Gold Pride and is now one of eight players in the league to win a pair of league crowns. In the three seasons that the WPS has been active, a Titan has now been a part of all three league championships after goalkeeper Karen Bardsley won the inaugural league title with Sky Blue FC in 2009.
0-FOR-UTAH: It may be a long time until the Titans travel to or play anyone from the state of Utah again as they have combined to go 0-2-1 against three of the "Beehive State's" six Division I schools (Utah, Utah State, BYU, Southern Utah, Weber State, and Utah Valley University) in 2011. Overall, Fullerton is 8-11-2 against the state since the program's start in 1993, having played all but Utah Valley in the history of the program.
WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO?: Junior transfer Ann Marie Tangorra has unleashed a team-high 12 shots thus far this season - one of only two Titans in double figures (teammate Stacey Fox has 11) - but has yet to find the back of the net after scoring 14 times last season at Cal State Los Angeles. It hasn't been due to a lack of effort, however, as she took a season-high four shots at BYU last weekend - the second-most by a Titan this season behind only Nikki McCants' five shots against Long Island - and enters the weekend as one of only four players (Fox, Erica Mazeau, and Jennifer Smith) with at least one shot in all five matches thus far this season, ranking among the league's top 10 in shots (t-7th) and shots per game (7th).
WELCOME BACK, Stacey Fox: When redshirt junior Stacey Fox found the back of the net late in the Titans' match against Pepperdine on Aug. 26, it not only gave her side the lead against the Waves, it brought the Simi Valley native full circle after missing all of the 2010 season due to a knee injury. For Fox, the goal was her first point in nearly two years dating back to her game-winning strike in a 1-0 victory against UC Davis on Oct. 30, 2009.
LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE: Fox's strike against Pepperdine gave her nine for her career - the most among all active Titans (junior Brisa Gonzalez is second with five) and almost half of the 20 career goals on the Fullerton roster entering the weekend. Her 21 career points are also tops on the team, nine ahead of Gonzalez's 12 points and 14 shy of the Titans' career top 10 list.
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Fox's score in the 84th minute against the Waves marked the third time in her last four goals that she has scored in the final 10 minutes of a match. However, it wasn't the latest she has come through for the Titans in a match as she scored with nine seconds remaining to beat UC Davis on Oct. 30, 2009, and eight seconds left in regulation against Washington on Sept. 27, 2009, to forge a 1-1 draw with the Huskies.
SUMMER TIME: After appearing in 17 matches off the bench for the Titans as a true freshman, sophomore Summer Chavez has embraced her starting role thus far in 2011 and it has paid dividends offensively for Fullerton thus far. Chavez, who notched her first career goal last season in a 3-2 win at UC Davis, has emerged as one of the Titans' playmakers in the early-going, assisting on two of Fullerton's last three goals - the first two helpers of her collegiate career.
SHE'S ALSO HERE TO HELP: Redshirt junior Jennifer Smith also had a foot on Stacey Fox's goal against Pepperdine, logging the seventh assist of her career and tying her with senior teammate Caitlin Mellano for the team lead. The duo now rank among the top 10 active leaders in the Big West Conference and stand just five assists shy of breaking into the school's top 10 list in that category.
