FULLERTON, Calif. – The Fullerton Titans (7-7) took down the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (1-7) and the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen (3-5) in the Fullerton Mini Tournament on Saturday. The Titans broke a program record in the first game of the day and slipped away with a win in the tournament finale.
 
Titans 23, Fresno Pacific 12
The Titans hosted the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds in the first game of the Fullerton Mini Tournament, taking down the Sunbirds by a score of 23-12 on Saturday morning. Fullerton  put together a big win in which the whole team contributed.
 
The Titans struck first and held a lead through the entire game. Julian Nichols put Fullerton on the board in the first, but FPU quickly answered back. Francesco Schiaffino put two past the keeper within less than a minute of each other, extending the lead. Ethan Merritt, Luke Vargas, Ethan MacLeod and Nico D'Angelo also found their way to the cage in the first quarter. FPU fired a total of four to the back of the net in the first, but it was not enough to overcome CSF.
 
In the second, MacLeod, Schiaffino and D'Angelo kept the same momentum, but Togan Ozbek, Andrew Barnuevo and Francisco Paredes joined in on the fun. The pack of Titans helped extend their teams lead to 13-6 going into the second half.
 
Fresno Pacific slowed down Fullerton a bit in the third quarter and evenly matched them with four goals each, but the Sunbirds needed to make their way past Fullerton goalie, Cy Hammerstrom a few more times in order to catch up. The four goals each put the scoreboard at 17-10 going into the final frame.
 
Jace Peterson and Kai Kubo ran the show in the fourth as they both posted two goals. Jacob Hatch and Carmelo Bangs tallied onto Fullerton's score to seal the big Saturday morning win.
 
MacLeod and Schiaffino led the Titans, each recording three goals and three assists. Peterson also netted three and logged an assist. The teams 16 assists set a new program record of assists in a single game. The Titans previous record sat at 15, heading into the day, which they recorded in September of 2023 against Austin College.
 
Hammerstrom ran the show at the cage, logging 10 saves in his first start of the season.  
 
Titans 14, Cal Lutheran 11
The Fullerton Titans came out on top in a hard-fought battle against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen on Saturday afternoon. Fullerton's six goals in the second quarter are ultimately what led to the 14-11 win over Cal Lutheran.
 
Carmelo Bangs and Ozbek rung up two goals for the Titans in the first quarter, but the Kingsmen topped them with three.
 
The Titans had no fear trailing by one as they headed into the second frame. Samuel Branco got the party started in the second, tying the game at three. MacLeod and Barnuevo each tallied two in the second, giving the Titans a 7-5 lead. D'Angelo capped the second quarter with a shot from the half to put Fullerton up by three going into the second half.
 
In the final two quarters, the two teams matched each other, each posting three goals per quarter. Paredes fired two past the keeper in the third and MacLeod rounded out the quarter, keeping the Titans on top by three. D'Angelo, Barnuevo and MacLeod each found their way to the back of the net one last time to seal the Fullerton Mini Tournament sweep.
 
MacLeod led the team with four goals on the day, while Barnuevo was right behind him with three. D'Angelo shined in game two with three goals and four assists, helping Fullerton to victory.
 
Noah Stark got the start in the second game of the day and logged 12 saves in his 32 minutes of playing time.
 
The Titans are back in the pool on Friday, September 26 as they head to the CBU Tournament to face Austin College at 11:20 a.m. and Biola at 2:50 p.m.
 
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