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Titans
in the Pros The Cal State Fullerton men's soccer program has been well represented at the professional level in a variety of venues and the advent of Major League Soccer (MLS) has provided another opportunity beyond college soccer for players. According to Soccer America, about 70 per cent of MLS players have collegiate experience and only five schools (UCLA, Virginia, Fresno State, Indiana and Southern Connecticut) had more products than Cal State Fullerton play in an MLS game in 1998. Head Coach Al Mistri and his coaching staff are aware of the new opportunities after college for players and they work to create an environment at Fullerton that will benefit everyone. "The quality of our schedule is a clear indicator of the professional opportunities that players have here at Cal State Fullerton," said Mistri. "We take a serious approach for our training and our overall level of the program guarantees exposure for our players." The Titans have regularly competed against "A" League teams such as the Orange County Waves (formerly Zodiac) in pre-season exhibitions and the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS in spring action. The Galaxy, which plays many of its matches in Titan Stadiium, also has worked out and used Titans as "enemy" players in scrimmages in Titan Stadium.. The Titans had four players on MLS payrolls as of August (2002) in Mike Ammann (injured list) of D.C. United, Brian Dunseth and Duncan Oughton of the Columbus Crew and Antonio Martinez of the Dallas Burn. The list grows to five if you count fomer Titan Joey Franchino of New England, who finished his college eligibility at Washington. Ammann (Kansas City) and midfielder Brad Wilson (Los Angeles) both played in the MLS' inaugural season. Ammann returned home after spending a number of seasons with Charlton, a member of England's First Division. He played in 2000 for New York/New Jersey and was the leading vote getter for the All-Star Game. Wilson also spent some time in Germany with F.C. Saarbrucken. The Waves, the "farm team" for the Galaxy, played their home games at Santa Ana Stadium and featured as many as five Titans in the lineup at one time including current Titan assistant coach Eddie Soto, who also established himself as a star on the pro beach soccer circuit, and Peter Lak, who also has been on the Galaxy. Others have included Colby Jackson, Paul McDonnell, Ricky Rodriguez, Art Temblador, Sheldon Thomas and Ken Hesse. Indoor soccer also has some Titan connections. McDonnell, Hesse and Rodriguez played in 1996 for the Anaheim Splash of the Continental Indoor Soccer League at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Perhaps the best-known Titan was Mike Fox, whose career at CSF ran from 1979 through 1982. He debuted professionally for the New York Cosmos, joining former Titan goalkeeper Dave Morrison in the North American Soccer League. Fox played in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Las Vegas Americans (1984-85), Wichita Wings (1985-90) and the St. Louis Storm (1991). He also spent time with the California Emperors (1990-91) and the Los Angeles Salsa (1992-94). Ammann's brother and current assistant coach, Bob, was a professional standout. After his Titan career (1983-86), Bob made his first professional start for the Los Angeles Heat of the American Professional Soccer League. He then went to Europe where he played for Brighton, a Second Division team in England. His career continued with the Edmonton Brickmen of the Canadian Soccer League and Neuchatal Xamax, a First Division team in Switzerland.
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