A late goal from junior midfielder Mark Vasquez was not enough for the Cal State Fullerton men’s soccer team as they fell 2-1 to UC Irvine Saturday. Since playing to a 2-2 draw two weeks prior, the Titans and the Anteaters have been headed in opposite directions in the Big West.
Riding high with three consecutive wins before the first match against UCI, the Titans went on to lose three straight matches. In that span, CSUF fell from second in the Big West South Division to third with 10 points. In the same span, the Anteaters have won three straight, including a win over the south division’s top team and the No. 5 nationally ranked Cal State Northridge Matadors.
Ahead of their match Saturday, the Anteaters were ranked No. 16 in light of their current form. In the first half, the two sides appeared to be as evenly matched as the result in their previous match. With shots even at 6-6, the Titans held a slight advantage in shots on target at 3-2 despite the Anteaters’ 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. A lively half aside, neither team was able to breach the others goal. Both teams would enter the interval even at 0-0. But following the scoreless 45 minutes, UCI would not wait long to break the deadlock.
Anteaters sophomore Mats Bjurman would open the scoring for his team in the 51st minute. Latching on to a pass from junior forward Cameron Iwasa, Bjurman was able to deftly flick his shot over rushing Titan senior goalkeeper Bryan Escalante for his second goal of the season.
Down a goal, CSUF did their best to push forward for an equalizer, but was only able to manage a couple of corners before their opponents struck again. Following an infraction for a back pass, the Anteaters won a free kick inside the CSUF penalty area. Having already scored, this time Bjurman laid off for senior forward Christopher Santana, who beat the Titan wall for his third goal of the season. The strike in the 73rd minute put the UCI men up 2-0.
Down two goals to nil in the 85th minute, CSUF was able to pull one goal back through Vasquez’s strike. Following a foul from UCI, Vasquez deposited a free kick into the upper left corner of Anteater goalkeeper Michael Breslin’s net. The late tally aside, the Titans were unable to muster much in response to the Anteaters as they failed to register a shot following Vasquez’s goal.
Escalante and Breslin both finished with four saves in the match. The match’s final score would remain 2-1 and UCI finished with an advantage in shots at 16-9.
With the loss, the Titans have fallen in three straight matches despite being undefeated in the four matches prior. Following UC Riverside’s win over first-place CSUN, the Titans have now fallen to fourth place in the south division, below UCR. Two matches remain for the Titans to fend off the Highlanders for the south division’s third and final spot in the Big West Tournament.
First up for CSUF is a midweek match with CSUN at Titan Stadium Wednesday. The Titans dropped a tough match with the Matadors 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 23.
Following their match with CSUN, the Titans will face the Highlanders on the road in what will likely be the match to decide the final team to qualify for the conference tournament. In their previous match against UCR, the Titans fell 2-1.
For more information on the CSUF men’s soccer team and all Titan Athletics, go to FullertonTitans.com.