Ultimate Faceoff in Big West Final
November 14, 2014 | Men's Soccer
UPCOMING MATCHES
Big West Tournament Final
Cal State Fullerton Titans at UC Irvine Anteaters
Sat., Nov. 15 / 7:00 PM
Anteater Stadium
Live Stats
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
The Big West Tournament is off and flying with 1st round matches going down on Saturday. The 'Eaters scored a 2-0 home victory over Sacramento State while Cal State Fullerton staved off elimination at UC Davis with a pair of goals in the final five minutes to win, 2-1.
On Wednesday night, the 'Eaters made the trek out to Santa Barbara to corral a wild, 3-2 win that saw each squad hold a lead, a first-minute PK, and the game-winner coming in the 82nd minute. Cal State Fullerton took down another opponent on the road with a 3-0 victory at UC Riverside in a match featuring a fifth-minute red card to UCR and a PK save from Titan keeper Jeff Salt.
UCI improved to 10-1-0 all-time in the Big West Tournament. The 'Eaters have won the tournament in four of its five trips. Its lone loss came in a semifinal match in 2010 at home to Cal State Fullerton with Titan coach, George Kuntz, manning the 'Eater sideline.
The Anteaters' Big West Tournament scoreless streak ended at 316 minutes after allowing the first-minute goal to UCSB. It still holds a 316-minute home scoreless streak.
Matthew Tilley and Cameron Iwasa accounted for UCI's first two goals for a second straight night. For a second straight match, Tilley headed home a corner kick and Iwasa drove the pitch and beat the keeper from the left wing inside the far right post.
Dennis Martinez supplied the eventual game-winner and has now accounted for five of his seven career goals this season. He also is responsible for three game-winner, all coming against ranked opponents (No. 19 Denver, No. 25 Clemson, No. 24 UC Santa Barbara).
Iwasa's pair of goals over the past week have placed him in the top ten in program history in goals with 20 alongside Michael Mucino and in points now with 53 tying Anthony Hamilton.
Assists came from Gor Kirakosyan and Gerardo Gonzalez, each providing their fifth of the season to tie Iwasa for the squad lead.
RPI 'EM EATERS
The 'Eaters have bounced all about the national rankings throughout the season. UCI started the year ranked No. 16 in the NSCAA preseason poll, the fourth time in the last five seasons with its highest being No. 13 in 2012.
The Anteaters have been as high as No. 2 or 3 in some polls while also slipping at times out of the top-25. Their resume has stood strong following an 8-0-1 run through non-conference play with five wins away from home and a 2-0-1 mark against ranked opponents. Here a look at the non-conference resume:
A draw at No. 4 RPI Georgetown, a squad that tied No. 6 Indiana and defeated No. 9 Creighton
A neutral-site win over No. 15 RPI Clemson, a squad with a win over No. 13 Providence, draw vs. No. 24 Louisville, and a stacked schedule featuring losses to No. 10 Syracuse, No. 2 Charlotte, and No. 20 North Carolina
A win at No. 31 West Virginia, who defeated No. 19 Penn State and lost to No. 35 New Mexico
Road wins over LMU and 13-win UNLV who lie in RPI top-70
Win over No. 45 RPI USD, a squad that beat No. 1 RPI UCLA
Even an exhibition win over No. 12 RPI Cal for good measure who just also took down the No. 1 RPI, UCLA
The Anteater RPI stands at No. 14. With 48 teams making the tournament field, 24 automatic conference bids and 24 at-large selections, the threshold stands right around the 33 through 39 slots for teams on the bubble looking for an at-large spot.
The Anteaters can hang their hat on a stout resume, but there is plenty of soccer to go to reach that only sure-fire way to get in the tournament, a Big West title.
FULLERTON FINALE
It's what everybody has wanted all year, the ultimate showdown between UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, this edition features a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The schools clashed twice in the regular season with similar, 1-0 results going the Anteaters' way:
UCI as the No. 7 team in the nation edged the Titans in Anteater Stadium on October 18 thanks to a 72nd-minute goal volleyed home by Bryan Breslin from a Kirakosyan corner kick. A fairly even match on the stat sheet slanted Fullerton's way in the first half while UCI brought the momentum back in the second half in a heated affair.
The return trip to Fullerton on October 29 saw the 14th-ranked Anteaters put the game-winner away in the 85th minute stemming from a clinical array from Noah Gaines and Gerardo Gonzalez to put Mario Ortiz in for the goal. The game flow mirrored the first match with CSUF taking the first half and UC Irvine rallying back in the second half.
The Titans have a pair of red-card-aided wins to get them to this point. UC Davis had a man sent off in the 67th minute of a scoreless tie. After the Aggies took the lead four minutes later, CSUF equalized with five minutes left and dealt the crushing game-winner with nine seconds to go.
In the semifinal, UC Riverside earned a red card in the fifth minute. The Titans would convert on the PK and add a second goal in the 12th minute. UCR had a chance to get back into it with their own PK, but Jeff Salt's save denied the Highlanders. The Titans capped the match off with a second half goal for the 3-0 victory.
Cal State Fullerton currently leads the nation in shot attempts with 340. The Anteaters aren't too far behind with 297 which ranks second in the conference and ninth nationally. Both squads can agree on scoring 33 goals thus far this season. The Titans have allowed one more goal than the 'Eaters (24) and eight more shots on target overall (105).
The scoring has primarily come from Marc Fenelus who leads the team with seven, five of which in conference play. Amara Soumah's five and four each from Ian Ramos and Garrett Losee also provided offensive threats. The Titan pressure starts from the jump as seen in the last two matches. It also results in plenty of corner kick opportunities; 132 to be exact, which is the third-most in the country. The Anteaters have also earned their share of corners with 126 in all, seventh-most in the nation.
CSUF also leads the nation in two more categories: fouls and minutes played. The Titans currently stand at 2,115 minutes played. The 'Eaters actually stand third with 1,958 minutes. Fullerton's foul count, however, is 347. The only other program to reach 300 was UCI's last opponent, UCSB, with 313. UCI's 232 is the least in the Big West. The Titans have also drawn the fourth-most yellow cards in the nation with 46 behind only UCSB, Santa Clara, and UC Davis.
If there's one thing there will not be a lack of in this match, its action. Two of the nation's highest shooting squads in the country that lean toward an aggressive style. Jeff Salt and the defense have also stepped up recently. The junior has a 0.90 goals-against-average on the year and stopped 60 shots including four of six PK attempts.
Prior to this season, the Titans were only a part of two prior Big West Tournaments. Their lone win came in 2010, 2-1, in the semifinal with current Titan head coach, George Kuntz, coaching UC Irvine. The all-time series has gone UCI's way of late with three straight wins, 10 in their last 13 meetings, and unbeaten in 24 of the last 27. In Anteater Stadium, UCI holds a 14-8-3 edge all-time.
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