NCAA SOCCER : Indiana Denies Fullerton Another Shot at the Title

Cal State Fullerton came up just short of its second consecutive trip to the NCAA soccer tournament’s Final Four as Indiana scored a 2-1 quarterfinal victory in front of 2,716 at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

“The youngsters will take it hard, but I’m a little older and can look at it as the end of an excellent season,” Fullerton Coach Al Mistri said.

The Titans, who finished 14-7-2 after overcoming a series of injuries and illnesses earlier in the season, almost overcame a 2-0 second-half deficit. Freshman midfielder Martin Palos, who scored the Titans’ only goal in the 68th minute off a Brad Wilson cross, earlier fired a shot that hit the right post.

Indiana Coach Jerry Yeagley said the Hoosiers (23-2) never felt their lead was safe against the opponent responsible for one of their two losses this season (3-2, in overtime, at the UCLA tournament in October).

“They were the strongest opponent we faced all year,” Yeagley said. “They have a lot of very talented players, in terms of technical ability, and also do a lot of great combination work.”

The Hoosiers entered the match as the tournament’s top seed, with an all-time NCAA tournament home-field record of 32-2. Indiana also was going for its 10th Final Four in 19 NCAA appearances over the last 22 seasons under Yeagley.

After a scoreless first half, the Hoosiers went ahead in the 52nd minute when a cross by Jeff Bannister deflected into the net off the back of Titan defender Peter Lak’s leg. Caleb Porter scored the second Indiana goal in the 64th minute.