Cal State Fullerton junior Kandace Wilson (Walnut, Calif.) notched her
first career hat trick and freshman Leslie Munoz (Fallbrook, Calif.) tallied
a pair of assists on the afternoon as the Titans handed visiting Fresno
State a 3-1 defeat on Sunday afternoon at Titan Stadium.
Cal State Fullerton improved to 1-1 overall on the year after a narrow
1-0 defeat to No. 21 Pepperdine on Friday night. Fresno State, which lost
4-0 to UC Riverside on Friday, fell to 0-2 overall on the season.
Wilson, who got the Titans on the board quickly in the fifth minute of
the match with her first goal of the year, snapped a 1-1 tie just 34 seconds
into the second half, heading down a free kick from Munoz from just inside
the midfield stripe to give the Titans the lead.
Just three minutes later, Wilson took another cross from Munoz, settled
the ball in the box and fired to the left post, beating the Bulldogs’
keeper to make it 3-1.
The Bulldogs tallied the first-half equalizer in the 35th minute when
Kortney Lewis stole a clear and chipped the ball over the Titan defense
to the foot of teammate Cortney Sobrero. Sobrero then sprinted around
her defender and beat the Fullerton goalkeeper to the far left post to
knot the score at 1-1.
Fullerton senior goalkeeper Nicole Williams (Irvine, Calif.) earned her
first career win in net without having to make a save, while freshman
Shayla Sabin (San Clemente, Calif.) made her first career appearance in
the 62nd minute. Fresno State keeper Debra Marie Lambert made 12 saves
for FSU.
The Titans took 34 shots on the afternoon, a total which is tied for second
on the school’s all-time list. The school record is 41 shots taken
against Wyoming on Sept. 28, 2001. Meanwhile, the defense allowed just
three shots by the Bulldogs for the match, a total which ranks ninth on
the all-time list for shots allowed.
Fullerton’s Erin Shelton (Rialto, Calif.) and Kellie Cox (Lancaster,
Calif.) led all players with seven shots apiece.
The Titans return to action on Wednesday (Sept. 8), closing out its season-opening
three-match homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against San Diego at Titan
Stadium.
