COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Titans Topple No. 7 Fresno State

The Cal State Fullerton soccer team had about five decent scoring chances Friday night against Fresno State--normally not enough to strike fear into the nation’s seventh-ranked team. But the unranked Titans converted 40% of their opportunities, scoring two second-half goals to upset the Bulldogs, 2-0, in front of about 700 at Fullerton’s Amerige Park.

Sophomore forward Ricky Rodriguez scored the Fullerton goals, the first on an assist from Dino Torres in the 54th minute and the second on a header from Paul McDonnell in the 78th minute.

Senior defender Noah Kooiman, who missed most of last season because of a leg injury, did an outstanding job marking Fresno State’s Gerell Elliott, who was the nation’s leading scorer with 38 points (15 goals, eight assists).

The Titans, who failed to convert numerous opportunities Sunday in a 1-0 overtime loss to UC Irvine, improved to 7-5, 5-1 in the Big West Conference, and moved into first place, a half-game ahead of the Bulldogs (8-2-2, 3-1).

“We were far more selective, and we were not rushing things like we did against UCI,” said Fullerton Coach Al Mistri, who celebrated his 45th birthday Friday. “Our two goals were amazing.”

After a scoreless first half, in which both teams played conservatively, Rodriguez stunned the Bulldogs when he drilled the ball into the lower right-hand corner of the net. Torres had picked up the ball on a transition and spotted Rodriguez unmarked down the middle.

Torres centered a pass from the right side and Rodriguez, from about 18 yards out, volleyed his shot past Bulldog goalie David Kramer to make it 1-0. Twenty-four minutes later, McDonnell set up for a direct free kick about 40 yards out on the left side.

He curled a long pass to the right of the goal mouth, where Rodriguez headed it into the upper-right-hand corner of the net. The Bulldogs had several good scoring chances but couldn’t slip any shots past Titan goalie Mike Ammann, who had four saves.