COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Offense Rolls From Start as the Titans Rout UNLV

In the last meeting, the teams staged a bench-clearing brawl.

Sunday, the only bench that emptied was Cal State Fullerton’s as the Titans routed Nevada Las Vegas, 9-0, in a Mountain Pacific Soccer Federation men’s soccer match in front of 1,215 at Titan Stadium.

It was the first meeting between the teams since Oct. 31, 1991, when field officials stopped the match after a brawl broke out with 18 seconds remaining and UNLV leading, 4-3. UNLV was awarded the victory by Big West Commissioner Jim Haney, and the loss ended Fullerton’s hopes for an NCAA tournament berth.

There were no major outbursts Sunday, except the ones by the Fullerton offense.

The Titans (11-4, 5-0 in conference), led by Eddie Soto’s two goals and four assists, scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match.

Seven minutes into the match, a Ricky Rodriguez header hit the goal post, but Ken Hesse knocked in the rebound to give Fullerton a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Mark Vaught, who also had two goals, scored off a Soto assist by trickling a shot past diving UNLV goalie Clint Larson.

Larson, who played at Golden West, started because first-string goalie Dan Schell received a red card Friday in the Rebels’ 3-1 loss to San Diego State.

Soto made it 3-0, scoring off an assist from Vaught, with 29 minutes remaining in the first half, and UNLV (7-5-4, 3-3) was on its way to the worst men’s soccer defeat in school history.

“I never thought we could go for nine goals,” Fullerton Coach Al Mistri said. “Things like this don’t happen. It was a fluke.”

Also scoring for the Titans were Damian Brown, Mauricio Ingrassia, Mark Roosen, and Paul McDonnell.

Goalie Mike Ammann, from Mater Dei, anchored the defense, making four saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Only a knee injury to midfielder Matt Bradbury tempered the victory for Fullerton. Mistri said Bradbury is questionable for Fullerton’s next match, Friday against San Diego State.

“It’s a great win for Fullerton,” UNLV Coach Barry Barto said. “For us, it doesn’t matter if you lose 1-0, 2-1, or 9-0, it’s still a loss.

“Last year’s incident didn’t have much to do with the game today. When we got behind, we had to take some chances, so Fullerton took advantage of them.”

In another Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match:

Cal State Northridge 3, UC Irvine 1--Mike Succi scored in the first half for host UC Irvine (7-9, 1-4).