Titans Make UCLA Pay the Penalty

Cal State Fullerton’s Duncan Oughton made his parents proud Thursday night.

Oughton, the Titans’ scoring leader, connected on a penalty kick with slightly more than a minute left in the second overtime to give Fullerton a 3-2 nonconference victory over UCLA in men’s soccer in front of 1,581 at Titan Stadium.

“Duncan’s parents were over here from New Zealand to see him play for the first time in the four years he’s been with us,” Titan Coach Al Mistri said.

Oughton also scored early in the second half to ignite a Titan comeback after UCLA took a 2-0 halftime lead.

Oughton’s winning kick was set up by a tripping penalty called against UCLA (9-5) on a drive toward the goal by the Titans’ David Dischner.

The loss was UCLA’s fourth in a row, the first four-game losing streak for the three-time national champions since 1979.

The victory extended Fullerton’s unbeaten streak to seven games. The Titans (12-4-1) had won three matches in a row against UCLA before the Bruins broke the streak last season with a 2-1 overtime victory at UCLA.

“That first half tonight was one of the worst first halves we’ve played, and Duncan seemed to be playing especially timid,” Mistri said. “We were wondering if it was because his parents were here. But we had a tremendous effort from everyone in the second half.”

UCLA took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute on a goal by freshman Leonard Griffin from five yards after a UCLA free kick hit the Titans’ Ray Ramirez in the head, causing the ball to pop up in front of the Titan goal. A scramble followed before Griffin connected.

The Bruins scored again in the first half on a breakaway by senior forward McKinley Tennyson.

Fullerton came back strong in the second half. Walter Camargo broke into the clear and passed the ball to Oughton, who connected from close range in the 48th minute.

The Titans tied the score in the 54th minute on a goal by Ricky Melendez. Passes by Oughton and Shaun Higgins gave Melendez an open shot from about 15 yards.