UC Irvine men lose to Fullerton at Big West

IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 8 UC Irvine men's soccer team (14-3-3) lost 2-1 to Cal State Fullerton Wednesday in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at Anteater Stadium.

Michael Denny collected the ball 40 yards out and passed it to Jonathan Birt on the right side of the box. Birt knocked it to Nick Posthuma inside the box where he sent it past the keeper to put Fullerton up 1-0 in the 29th minute. Oscar Aguero passed the ball to Kevin Venegas at the top of the box as Venegas sent it to the left post for a 2-0 Titan lead in the 42nd minute. Sophomore Zach Olow (Poway HS) collected the ball near the left sideline and hit a left-footed ball into the net to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 78th minute.

Junior keeper Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) had three saves for the ‘Eaters. Keeper Bryan Escalante had seven saves for the Titans.

The Anteaters outshot the Titans 18-8 in the match, including nine shots on goal. Senior Amani Walker (San Diego/Francis Parker HS) had nine shots total and five on goal for UCI.

The ‘Eaters will now await a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selections for the tournament will be announced Monday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.