Fullerton’s Playoff Bid Hurt by Tie

Cal State Fullerton’s chances of earning a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoff berth were hurt Sunday when the Titans tied UC Santa Barbara, 1-1, in their final Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. men’s soccer match on Titan Field.

The NCAA Far West playoff committee met late Sunday night to select the Far West team rankings, and a decision on Fullerton’s playoff bid is expected to be announced today, said Al Mistri, Fullerton coach.

“We felt all week long that if we won (the UC Santa Barbara game) we’d have a good chance (of gaining a playoff berth),” Mistri said. “But now I think this put a serious damper on it. I feel we need to be ranked in the top four (of the Far West Region) to make it, but after tying Santa Barbara, well, it’s difficult. We really needed a win to be in there.”

Junior midfielder Ken Caiani gave Santa Barbara a 1-0 lead at 36:58 of the first half. The Titans were unable to score in the first half, despite pressure on Gaucho goaltender Jamie Firmage.

Fullerton freshman Greg Cipolla took a pass from Tom Atencio to score from 15 yards at 81:12 to tie the score.

The Titans had several opportunities to score in overtime, but Firmage, who had 13 saves, held them off.

Fullerton (11-7-1, 5-4-1) has not lost in 11 straight home matches. UC Santa Barbara is 9-9-3 and 4-4-1.