Oct. 2, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

FULLERTON, CA - Coming off a heartbreaking loss against Hawaii earlier in the week, the Cal State Fullerton women's soccer team (5-5-1 overall) must regroup quickly as a busy weekend of play awaits them to close out a four-match homestand and a stretch of three games in six days.

The Titans open the Big West Conference portion of their schedule on Friday night (Oct. 3) at 7 p.m. against Cal Poly before they welcome preseason conference favorite and No. 23-ranked UC Santa Barbara to Titan Stadium on Sunday (Oct. 5) for a 5 p.m. kick-off.

IN THE POLLS: UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 23 in this week's NSCAA's coaches poll and is receiving 12 votes in the Soccer Times national poll... Neither Cal State Fullerton nor Cal Poly are ranked this week.

CATCH IT "LIVE": Can't make the trip to Titan Stadium this weekend? If you're near your computer, you can log on to www.FullertonTitans.com and catch the live play-by-play from veteran Titan soccer broadcaster Michael Martinez, who will have the call for both of this weekend's Big West Conference matches. Live streaming video will also be available this weekend (on a subscription basis) via www.BigWest.org/TV.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly enters this weekend's Big West Conference openers with a 5-6 overall record, having split its last four matches... The Mustangs split a pair in the state of Utah last weekend by identical 1-0 scores, defeating Utah State and falling to Utah... Ashley Vallis leads the team in scoring with three goals and seven points while Tiffany Gummow has also found the back of the net three times... 10 different players have scored goals this season for Cal Poly... Goalkeeper Coral Hoover has a 1.21 goals against average and 57 saves in 11 starts.

VERSUS CAL POLY: Cal State Fullerton trails in the all-time series with Cal Poly, 9-5-4, and is winless in its last two meetings... the Titans are 2-3-3 all-time against the Mustangs at home... Fullerton is 3-1-3 against Cal Poly in the last seven meetings... the Mustangs defeated the Titans, 1-0, in double overtime in last year's meeting during the regular season.

AT LAST WE MEET, FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOR THE LAST TIME: Friday night's match-up will be a rematch of last season's Big West Conference championship match that saw the Titans and Mustangs battle to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes before Fullerton claimed the tournament title with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks. The two programs have combined to win at least a share of 10 out of a possible 12 conference regular season titles and six of a possible seven postseason tournament titles.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara enters the weekend with a 7-4 overall record... the Gauchos will face UC Riverside on Friday (Oct. 3) at 6 p.m. before meeting the Titans... UCSB is 3-3 away from home this season... the Gauchos split a pair of matches in Arizona last weekend, falling to Arizona State, 1-0, before shutting out Arizona, 1-0, in overtime... Genelle Ives leads the team in scoring with four goals and 11 points while Kailyn Kugler has three goals and four assists for 10 points... five different players have multiple goals on the year while 11 players have found the back of the net overall... Tammy Lenham has started eight of the team's 11 matches, posting a 1.35 goals against average and 22 saves... Ali Cutler has also seen time in five matches (three starts), allowing just one goal (0.29 GAA) with 11 saves.

VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: The Titans lead the all-time series against the Gauchos, 9-6-1... UCSB posted a 2-0 win over Fullerton in last year's meeting and has won two of the last three... the Titans are 5-4 against the Gauchos at home.

FOR OPENERS: Cal State Fullerton is 7-4-1 all-time in Big West Conference openers, winning its last two straight... The Titans posted a 2-0 shutout win over UC Davis in last year's opener... Fullerton and Cal Poly have met only once to open the Big West Conference season as the Mustangs posted a 4-1 win in San Luis Obispo in 1997... Fullerton is 3-1-1 when opening its Big West schedule at home, unbeaten in its last three (2-0-1) dating back to 1999.