University of Washington
Cal State Fullerton
Three Second Half Goals Lift Huskies Over Titans
September 12, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 12, 2010
FULLERTON, Calif. - After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the UW men's soccer team (2-1-1) was on fire in the second half, scoring three goals to pick up the 3-1 victory over the Cal State Fullerton Titans (0-2-2) on their home field Sunday afternoon.
Fullerton had taken an early 1-0 lead when Nick Posthuma scored the 13th minute. Ritchie Gonzalez was credited with the assist from the top of the penalty box. Fullerton took the 1-0 lead into the half.
In the second half, the Huskies took control and were led by two upperclassmen. Senior transfer Daniel Gray (Tacoma, Wash.), scored the tying goal with a penalty kick in the 52nd minute after a hand ball in the penalty box was assessed against the Titans' Mark Nelson. It was the first official goal for Gray as a Husky.
Junior Brent Richards (Camas, Wash.) scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute on a pass from midfielder Casey McCool (Bend, Ore).
Gray scored his second career goal and second of the game just two minutes after Richards' goal in the 85th minute. He converted a fast-break pass from senior Matt Van Houten (Portland, Ore.).
"It was a big step for our team," said head coach Dean Wurzberger. "It was a gut check at halftime on the road. We played to our strengths and hung in there and we were just one goal away so we re-gained our confidence and control. Daniel (Gray) got an important goal in a big moment and the second goal by Brent (Richards) was a piece of art. It takes a lot of training to score like that. The third goal we executed that well and put the icing on the cake. To have a game like that early in the season it could've gone either way and I'm really proud of the team. We came together in the last 45 minutes and got the energy to win it."
Senior goalkeeper Stephen Fung (Honolulu, Hawai'i) picked up his first win of the year (1-0-1) making one save.
Washington had 18 shots in the game and eight on goal, led by Gray and Richards with three each. Fullerton had 10 shots on goal. The Titans goalkeeper, Trevor Whiddon, made five saves.
The Huskies also led in corner kicks (5-2) and fouls (7-14).
Washington picked up its 10th win over Cal State Fullerton and sixth-straight victory over the Titans.
Three Huskies made the all-tournament team in Gray, senior Taylor Mueller (Sammamish, Wash.) and sophomore Dylan Tucker-Gangnes (Bainbridge Island, Wash.).
San Jose State won the tournament with a 2-0 record. The rest of the all-tournament team included: Jonathan Lester, Nick Murphy, Josh Boemecke and Ricky Martin from San Jose State; Joe Franco and Rene Anguiano from Cal State Northridge and Mark Nelson and Nick Swart from Cal State Fullerton.
The Huskies will head back to Portland, Ore., for the second time in two weeks, this time facing the nationally-ranked Pilots on Saturday at 7 p.m.
