Cal State Fullerton Can’t Win for Tying

Cal State Fullerton and Creighton played 150 minutes of scoreless soccer Sunday.

The game’s regulation 90 minutes didn’t produce a goal, and neither did two 15-minute overtime periods. And the score after two more sudden-death, 15-minute overtime periods: 0-0.

Zero to zilch.

But when it finally came down to a penalty-kick shootout to decide which team would stay alive in the NCAA men’s soccer playoffs, Creighton won it, 4-2, to advance to the quarterfinals next weekend.

“I feel emotionally drained,” Titan Coach Al Mistri said. He could have been speaking for the players and coaches on both teams, not to mention the crowd of 1,984 in Titan Stadium.

“I’ll remember it as a tie, and that’s the way the NCAA considers it, although Creighton gets to go on, based on the shootout,” Mistri said. “This still has been a tremendous season for us. We played a very good team today. We’re not embarrassed or ashamed.”

In the shootout, each of five players goes one-on-one in a close-range scoring situation against the rival goalkeeper.

“It’s just an educated guess for a goalkeeper in that situation,” said Fullerton goalkeeper Mike Forensich, referring to the direction of a possible shot. “But we’d done pretty well in that kind of situation before. I had saved all three penalty kicks we had earlier this season.”

But none of those was in an overtime shootout in the NCAA tournament.

“That’s a lot of pressure,” Mistri said.

Johnny Torres’ opening kick in the shootout was good, giving Creighton a 1-0 lead, but Fullerton’s first shot by Al Partida sailed over the crossbar. Then Brad McTighe connected for a 2-0 lead before Charlie Lynch scored Fullerton’s first goal.

Then, after misses by both teams, Richard Mulrooney put Creighton ahead, 3-1. Brian Dunseth’s goal again cut the lead, but Ross Paule ended it with a clean shot into the net.

“That was my first shootout, and I was nervous,” Creighton goalkeeper Jon Epperson said. “It’s a situation where you have to stay confident, even after they score a goal or two. Having their first shot go over helped.”

Both goalkeepers turned in sparkling performances in regulation play and overtime. Creighton had 21 shots on goal, including seven by Torres, their leading scorer, and Forensich was credited with 15 saves. The Titans had only nine shots, and their top scorer, Sheldon Thomas, managed only one.

“Our defenders played great,” Epperson said. “They didn’t give them a chance to turn and shoot.”

Creighton Coach Bret Simon said it was a game in which both teams concentrated on not making a mistake that set up an easy goal.

“If one team had scored early, it might have opened the game up,” he said. “Our strategy was to stay focused and take the goal only if it came to us. We had a lot of confidence in our goalkeeper.

“But Fullerton is a terrific team. When we started looking at their players as we were preparing for the game that became obvious.”

Mistri said he was impressed with the poise Creighton showed in such a demanding game on the road. “It’s hard to go someone else’s field and maintain the cool they showed,” he said. “They’re very well disciplined.”

It was a fitting performance for two teams ranked in the top 20 at the end of the regular season, Creighton 16th and Fullerton 18th.

The Titans finish with an 11-4-6 record. Creighton is 16-4-2 going into the quarterfinals against Fresno State, which defeated top-seeded Washington, 2-1, Sunday. Fullerton beat the Bulldogs, 3-0, early in the regular season.