CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK / LON EUBANKS : Mistri Eyes Spot in NCAA Soccer Playoffs

This has been a season of highs and lows for Cal State Fullerton men’s soccer, but Coach Al Mistri is optimistic his team can finish strong and gain an at-large berth in the NCAA playoffs.

Fullerton’s chances were boosted last weekend when the Titans upset top-ranked Indiana, 3-2, in overtime, then tied Notre Dame, 2-2, to win the MetLife tournament at UCLA with a 1-0-1 record.

But Mistri says that doesn’t make his team a clear choice for an at-large berth.

The Titans, however, have improved to 10-6-2, and climbed back into Soccer America’s Top 20 this week (No. 17). The loss dropped Indiana (17-2) to second with South Carolina (15-2) taking over the top spot. Indiana defeated UCLA, 2-0, in its second match in the UCLA tournament.

Fullerton has two regular-season games remaining: one at home Thursday night against California and the other at Loyola Marymount next Wednesday.

Mistri hopes the Titans can finish as one of the top four teams in the Far West region. If that happens, he said, the Titans will have a good shot at a bid.

Fourth-ranked UCLA (15-2) and 14th-ranked Fresno State have clinched their divisions in the Mountain Pacific Soccer Federation and will meet Nov. 13 to determine who gets the NCAA automatic bid. The loser will get strong consideration for an at-large bid. The only other ranked team in the West, Santa Clara at 11-4-1, is in range of its conference championship and an automatic bid.

The Titans did receive an at-large bid last year and made the most of it. They were 13-6 in the regular season, then won three consecutive playoff games to advance to the NCAA’s semifinals before losing to South Carolina.

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Senior scoring leader Eddie Soto has 13 goals this season and 33 in his career. He needs two to tie the career school record for goals set by Mike Fox in 1982.

Soto has been on a roll lately. He has scored at least once in each of the last four games and has six goals in that span.

“I’d like to be able to tie the record this week at home,” Soto said. “It would be a nice farewell.”

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The Titans’ Heather Killeen, who missed last year’s Big West cross-country meet because of a hip injury, still is aching with disappointment from another bad break in last weekend’s conference event.

Bronchitis, combined with the 4,600-feet altitude at Logan, Utah, turned out to be too much for her.

“She was about 20 seconds ahead with less than a half-mile to go, but her blood oxygen got so low that her body just quit on her,” Coach John Elders said. “It was amazing that she was able to finish the race. The doctors speculated that she may have suffered a mild seizure at that point. Apparently, the bronchitis and the altitude brought it on.”

Killeen finished fourth even though she virtually staggered at the finish.

“She says she didn’t remember a thing that happened in that last half-mile of the race,” Elders said. “It’s really a shame because she was clearly the best in the conference, and that’s not meant to discredit the people who finished ahead of her, because a couple of them ran the race of their lives.”

She stayed an extra day in Utah to recover, and returned home late Sunday. Whether Killeen can be back in good health in time for the NCAA Regional Championships, Nov. 12 in Tucson, Ariz., still is uncertain, Elders said. “She’s fatigued right now, but we should know more in a few days,” Elders said.

The women’s and men’s teams finished fourth in the conference meet.

Mark Sinderson led the Fullerton men, finishing sixth.

Titan Notes

About 250 are expected for tonight’s “20 Years of Excellence” reception and dinner paying tribute to the Fullerton women’s gymnastics program. The alumni returning for the event include the program’s first NCAA champion, Carolyn Burdick, and its first All-American in the sport, Julie Knight, now an assistant under Titan Coach Lynn Rogers. . . . Basketball Weekly has chosen Titan center Winston Peterson to its preseason All-Big West second team. . . . Dan Lewis, son of the former Titan wrestling coach, will be a member of the wrestling team this season and will compete in the 158-pound class.