Men’s Soccer: Titans, Kuntz prevail
The UC Irvine men’s soccer team’s Big West Conference Tournament magic might have had more to do with its former coach than the Anteaters thought.
Cal State Fullerton, guided for the first time by George Kuntz, who spent 19 seasons at the UCI helm and won four titles in five Big West Tournament appearances, prevailed over the host Anteaters in penalty kicks after the two teams failed to score in 110 minutes of wide-open action in front of 1,231 at Anteater Stadium.
Titans goalie Jeff Salt made two penalty kick saves and watched a third UCI shot carom off the goal post to give the Titans a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks, and their first conference tournament title. Salt, a late-season addition to the lineup who has now made six saves in 11 penalty shots against him this season (plus the one miss off the goal post), was named tournament Most Valuable Player.
The verdict, which is actually recorded as a tie, earns the Titans (10-7-6) the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. It’s Fullerton’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.
UCI (14-5-3), which entered the game 10-1 in conference tournament play with titles in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, must now hope for an at-large NCAA berth. The ‘Eaters are now 4-0-1 in Big West Tournament finals.
“We were No. 17 [in the ratings percentage index] going into this final week,” UCI Coach Chris Volk said.
“A road win at Santa Barbara [on Wednesday] should, I think, actually help our cause. Tonight actually goes down as a tie. It’s not a loss. We finish 14-5-3 and we have good results against other top 50 RPI teams in the country. I like our chances. Now, it’s in the hands of the selection committee. We don’t get to make that decision. We obviously prefer to win it outright and get the automatic qualifier, but I think with our body of work over the season, we should be considered for an at-large [berth].”
Mats Bjurman and Cameron Iwasa converted penalty kicks for UCI, which is 3-0-1 this season in overtime games. Gor Kirakosyan and Matt Tilley had their low shots stopped by a diving Salt, who is 6-foot-6.
Needing to convert to force Cal State Fullerton to take its final attempt, UCI’s Mario Ortiz had his shot bounce back off the goal post to spark a wild celebration by the Titans, who are 1-2-6 in overtime games.
Cal State Fullerton, which lost its two regular-season meetings to the Anteaters and finished third, one spot behind the ‘Eaters in the four-team Big West South Division, had 17 shots in the contest, one more than UCI.
The Titans, who came in leading the nation in shot attempts (UCI ranked No. 9), forced UCI goalkeeper Michael Breslin to make eight saves in regulation and the two 10-minute overtime sessions.
Kirakosyan drove a shot just over the crossbar in the 59th minute and Bjurman fired a cross from Iwasa just wide with 4:07 left in the first overtime for two of UCI’s best scoring chances.
An Iwasa drive toward the upper portion of the net in the 53rd minute, forced Salt to make a leaping, overhead save.
Iwasa finished with five shots, while Kirakosyan, Lalo Calzada and Dennis Martinez had two shots apiece for UCI.
Starter Marc Fenelus and reserves Robert Coronado and Julian Okai converted penalty kicks for the Titans.
Breslin made a diving save on a penalty kick by Ian Ramos.
The ‘Eaters, who opened the season 9-0-1, were later 12-1-2, and were twice ranked No. 3 in the nation, are 3-4-1 in their last seven contests.