Cal State Fullerton junior midfielder Ashley
O’Brien (Huntington Beach, Calif.) scored her first goal of the
season in the 25th minute and the Titans’ defense held visiting
Utah State to just 10 shots on the night as Fullerton defeated the Aggies,
1-0, on Friday night at Titan Stadium.
Cal State Fullerton won its fourth-straight match to improve to 8-7-1
overall and 4-1-1 in the Big West Conference. The Titans moved above the
.500 mark for the first time since a Sept. 8 victory over San Diego moved
them to 2-1 overall. Utah State had its four-match unbeaten streak snapped
in falling to 6-8-1 overall, 3-2-1 in league play.
The Titans’ lone goal started with Lauryn Welch (La Mirada, Calif.)
whose corner kick was flicked into the box by Kandace Wilson (Walnut,
Calif.), finding the feet of O’Brien, who shot the ball through
a crowd of players into the left corner for the 1-0 lead.
That’s all Fullerton would need as the defense held the Aggies to
just five shots in each half (three on goal) and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Karen Bardsley made three saves to earn her third shutout of the year.
She now has six career shutouts in net, moving her into a third-place
tie with Marla Nelson (1997, 1999-00) on the Cal State Fullerton career
lists.
Pryor became the 10th different Titan to score a goal this season and
the 14th player to score a point.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 24) at
1 p.m. as the Titans host Idaho, which lost 2-1 at UC Riverside on Friday,
in the final home match of the season.
Prior to kickoff, Titan seniors Nicole Williams (Irvine, Calif.) and Vanessa
Valentine (Encinitas, Calif.) will be honored for their contributions
to the women’s soccer program.
