RETURNING TO PEORIA
? Bradley will play its first home game in nearly three weeks, hosting Cal State Fullerton Saturday at Shea Stadium at 7 p.m.
? The Braves went 2-1-0 during its season-long three-game road stretch, including a 1-1-0 record in its third place finish at the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic Sept. 12-14.
? Five of Bradley's next six games will be at Shea Stadium, including the next three.
The Series
? Saturday's contest between Bradley and Cal State Fullerton is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
? Cal State Fullerton is the third of four first-time Bradley opponents in 2008, joining UAB, North Florida and Howard.
? The Braves are 2-0-0 in games this season against first-time opponents, defeating UAB and North Florida earlier this season.
? Cal State Fullerton is the second team from California to visit Shea Stadium.
? The Braves defeated Big West member UC Irvine, 1-0, on Sept. 17, 2005, in the only previous meeting at Shea Stadium against a California-based program.
? The 2005 meeting with UC Irvine was also the only previous meeting with a school from the Big West Conference.
? The Braves will look to avoid its first three-game winless streak to start the home schedule since 1994, when the Braves started the home slate with a 0-2-1 record.
BRAVES END OHIO DROUGHT
? Junior forward Chris Cutshaw scored the game-winning goal with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, helping Bradley net a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Xavier last Friday night.
? Freshman Bryan Gaul sent a deep pass toward the top of the box, allowing Cutshaw to deflect the bouncing ball into the net.
? The victory snapped a six-game losing streak in the state of Ohio for the Braves.
? Bradley's previous victory in The Buckeye State came nearly ten years ago to the day, a 1-0 victory over Bowling Green on Sept. 20, 1998.
? Freshman forward Christian Meza tied the game early in the second half with an unassisted goal, his second of the season.
DOING DAMAGE LATE
? In three of Bradley's four victories this season, the Braves have found the back of the net in the game's final minute.
? Chris Cutshaw has done it twice, the first time coming as an insurance goal in the season-opening win at Memphis and then again as the game-winner at Xavier last Friday.
? Justin Bigelow scored an insurance goal with two seconds remaining in Bradley's 2-0 win over North Florida on Sept. 14.
DOING DAMAGE EARLY
? The Braves have also found success scoring early, netting a goal in the first two minutes of a half on four different occasions this year.
? Christian Meza scored just 71 seconds into the season opener against Memphis, then needed 72 seconds to score in the second half against Xavier.
? Bryan Gaul has also accomplished this feat twice, scoring in the first minute of the second half against Memphis, then providing the game-winner against North Florida 1:44 into the second half.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
? Cal State Fullerton enters Saturday's contest with a 2-6-0 record and a three-game losing streak.
? Saturday's contest is the fifth consecutive road game for Cal State Fullerton, as the Titans are in the middle of a six-game road trip.
? The Titans opened the season with 2-0 home victory over Alabama A&M, one of Bradley's opponents in next week's Country Inn & Suites Homecoming Classic.
? Sophomore Celso Alvarez leads the Fullerton offense with three goals through eight games.
? Senior Kevin Puder and freshman Trevor Whiddon have split time in net for the Titans, each posting a 1-3-0 record.
? Puder has allowed five goals for a 1.25 goals against average, while Whiddon have given up eight goals for a 1.97 goals against average.
DEFENSE STILL IMPRESSIVE
? Through the season's first seven games, the Bradley defense has a chance to make a significant mark on the school record books.
? Bradley has allowed four goals through the season's first seven games, matching the pace of the 2005 squad.
? In 2005, the Braves allowed 18 goals, the second-lowest total in school history, also recording a school-record 11 shutouts.
? This season, the Braves have recorded three shutouts, and have allowed one goal or fewer in each of the first seven games.
HEAD COACH JIM DeROSE
? Jim DeRose (Johnson State ?89) is in his 13th season as a head coach, all at Bradley, and was the 2007 Soccer America National Coach of the Year.
? DeRose and his staff have been named the Missouri Valley Conference Coaching Staff of the Year in each of the last two seasons.
? After serving as an assistant coach at former MVC member Illinois State from 1992 through 1994 and one year as an assistant at Richmond, the then 27-year-old DeRose took over a struggling Bradley program in 1996 and has turned the Braves into a consistent winner.
? DeRose enters Saturday with a 147-86-26 (.618) career record and his 147 wins represent 74.2 percent of Bradley's 198 victories in the 21-year history of the program.
