Matchup With UCLA Has Plenty of History

It probably wasn’t the biggest victory in men’s soccer for Cal State Fullerton.

But last year’s 2-1 victory over top-ranked UCLA in the NCAA tournament’s first round certainly ranks as a memorable one, even though the Titans were eliminated by Creighton the next week in a shootout.

“I’m sure [UCLA] still remembers that game,” Coach Al Mistri said. “And I’m sure their team is going to be out to prove it was a fluke.”

The teams meet for the first time since then on Friday night in Titan Stadium, and there already is considerable fan interest. More than 2,500 tickets have been sold to area youth soccer teams. The record crowd for a Fullerton game in Titan Stadium is 2,916 for the Fullerton-UCLA game in 1995, and the crowd is expected to exceed that one.

The game could have a significant bearing on which team wins the Mountain Pacific Soccer Assn. division championship. And for the Titans, it could be a big factor in their chances for an NCAA at-large bid if they don’t win the MPSF title. Both teams are 2-0 in conference play.

UCLA (11-1) is ranked third nationally by Soccer America. Fullerton (7-5) is unranked after a four-game losing streak in midseason, and the Bruins again will be favored.

UCLA usually is. Fullerton has won only four of the previous 24 matches between the teams, even though the Titans have elevated their status considerably in the 1990s, and have won two of the last three games against UCLA in Titan Stadium.

“UCLA has a tradition in soccer that is unique,” Mistri said. “Look around at the rosters of the Major League Soccer teams and a lot of them have former UCLA players on them. We’ve improved, but we’re not quite there yet.”

But Mistri is optimistic that the Titans will be competitive again this season with a young team.

“I think we’ll be very eager to play this game,” Mistri said. “We’ve got some older players who are very competitive and some young players who want to show everyone how good they are.”

Mistri is planning to start six freshmen against the Bruins.

Senior forwards Charlie Lynch and Sheldon Thomas are the team leaders. They share the team scoring lead, each with 19 points. Lynch has eight goals and Thomas seven.

But the young players also have been making their presence felt more in the last few weeks. Freshman Duncan Oughton has scored three goals in only 10 shots since joining the team in the last five games after a preseason injury, and Marco Mesrobian continues to be a key player as an attacking midfielder.

But Lynch thinks the young players are capable of doing even more. “If we’re going to do well the rest of the season, they’re going to need to step up, especially in this game,” Lynch said. “This is a huge game for us. It’s a critical game if we hope to make the playoffs again this season.”

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So what’s the top game in Titan soccer history? Mistri thinks it’s difficult to top beating Nevada Las Vegas, 2-1, in overtime, in 1986. That win helped to put Fullerton in the NCAA playoffs for the first time under Mistri.

There have been other good ones, including three consecutive road victories in 1993 that lifted Fullerton into the NCAA soccer final four for the first time.

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The Titan baseball team will complete three weeks of fall workouts Saturday, and pitching coach Dave Serrano is encouraged by the first two weeks.

Several freshmen pitchers have shown promise.

That group includes Jon Smith from Perris High, Adam Johnson from Del Mar Torrey Pines and Kirk Saarloos from Long Beach Valley Christian. Serrano said Smith, a left-hander with a fastball in the 88-mph range, has been especially solid.

Serrano said senior Erasmo Ramirez, one of two transfers from Cal State Northridge, also has been impressive. “He’s done well, to no one’s surprise,” Serrano said.

Benny Flores, the other Northridge transfer, has been sidelined because of arm trouble, but is scheduled to resume throwing this week. Two other experienced pitchers, senior Scott Hild and sophomore Michael Garner, also have been held out because of arm tendinitis.

The Titan coaches and players will hold a clinic for youngsters 8 and over at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Titan Field. A team workout and intrasquad scrimmage will follow. The scrimmage is scheduled to start at around 2 p.m.

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The volleyball team is taking part in a special fund-raising event, Dig For The Cure, this month. It’s designed to raise money for the American Volleyball Coaches Assn.’s Vivian Langley Fund.

Pledges are being solicited for every dig the Titans make at home games during October. Langley is a former assistant volleyball coach at Minnesota who is suffering from a cancer that reoccurred as a result of breast cancer. She needs financial support to assist with bills associated with bone marrow retrieval.

The Titans are 11-9, 3-3 in the Big West, after victories last weekend against UC Irvine and Pennsylvania. Senior LaCretia Smith leads the team in kills with 255. Freshman Carolyn Kittell leads in digs with 241, one ahead of Smith.

Titan Notes

The men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin preseason practice Friday night with a Midnight Madness session. The public is invited, and several fan competition events are planned with the finals starting at 10 p.m. . . . The women’s soccer team (5-8, 1-2 in the Big West) won twice last week, ending a four-game losing streak.

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Coming Attractions

Key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Men’s soccer, against UCLA, 7 p.m. Friday, and against Cal State Northridge, 4 p.m. Sunday, both at Titan Stadium.

* Women’s soccer, against San Diego, 7 p.m. today , and against Utah State, 2 p.m. Sunday, both at Titan Stadium.

* Women’s volleyball, against Idaho, 7 p.m. Friday, and against Boise State, 7 p.m. Saturday, both at Titan Gym.

* Men’s and women’s cross-country, at UC San Diego Invitational, 9 a.m. Saturday.