Titans Remain in Contention

Cal State Fullerton turned back UC Irvine, 2-0, Sunday in men’s soccer to stay in the running for a share of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s Pacific Division title.

Fullerton’s victory in its final regular-season home game kept the Titans (13-3) in second place in the division with a 5-1 record, a game behind first-place UCLA.

It was Fullerton’s eighth consecutive victory over the Anteaters. Irvine fell to 6-10-1 and 1-3 in the conference.

UCLA, the nation’s second-ranked team, leads the division with a 6-0 record. The Bruins (13-1) defeated San Diego State, 2-0, Sunday for their 11th consecutive victory.

Fullerton, ranked 23rd in the soccer coaches’ poll, will play at UCLA Nov. 7 in the final game of the regular season.

“This was an important game for us,” Titan Coach Al Mistri said. “Now we can still advance to the conference playoff [against the Mountain Division champion] if we can beat UCLA. We had to win twice this week against two very dangerous opponents. We’re happy to be 13-3.”

The Titans defeated San Diego State in Titan Stadium on Friday.

“UCI always gives us a tough game, and so we didn’t take anything for granted,” Titan forward Colby Jackson said. “We knew we had to play hard.”

It helped the Titans that they got off to a good start.

Fullerton took a 1-0 lead with only 2:44 gone in the game when midfielder Ricky Melendez scored his third goal of the season after a crossing pass from Shaun Higgins.

Melendez also turned in an alert defensive play not long afterward when he blocked an Irvine shot in goal when Titan goalkeeper Scott Alexander was out of the play.

Fullerton scored its second goal early in the second half. Jackson connected for his sixth goal of the season on a give-and-go play that went from Jackson to Antonio Martinez back to Jackson, whose shot from 10 yards out glanced off the crossbar.

“We played better defense in the second half, and that helped a lot,” Mistri said. “It was a very physical game.”

The Titans played their sixth consecutive game without their top scorer, junior forward Duncan Oughton, who has been sidelined with a fractured bone in his left forearm. However, Mistri said Oughton has been cleared to rejoin the team and will be able to play with a soft protective cast.