FULLERTON, Calif. – Facing Cal State Fullerton in its final game of the regular season Saturday night, the UC Riverside men's soccer team started strong but was unable to come away with the win, falling 2-1 on the road.

The Highlanders end the year with marks of 6-9-3 overall and 1-5-1 in the Big West. The Titans will head into the Big West Tournament at 11-6-1 overall, 2-5 in conference.

For the second time in three games, UCR would strike first, as a Ronaldo Lomeli goal in the 31st minute put the visitors up 1-0. It was the senior midfielder's second goal of the season, as he reached the score sheet for the first time since Sep. 6 at Cal Baptist. Defender Jonick Pineda also notched his second assist of his junior year.

Riverside would hold the lead for nearly a third of the match, but early offensive pressure by Fullerton would see the home side tally the first six shot attempts of the second half, eventually leading to a penalty in the 57th minute. Junior forward Christian Pinzon converted the penalty to tie the game at 1-1.

Things remained tied until the 83rd minute, when the Titans were fouled in the box once again, earning a second penalty. This time, it was senior midfielder Oscar Flores who stepped up, tucking it away to give Fullerton the decisive 2-1 advantage.

Playing a man down the rest of the way, UCR pushed forward, putting three shots on frame over four minutes, all resulting in Titan saves. The Highlanders' 13th and final shot on the day with eight seconds left would go wide left. Fullerton had 19 shot attempts of its own and ended the day with a 5-4 edge in the save department.

As a result of the final day of play, which also saw CSUN win at UC Irvine to clinch a spot in the postseason, UCR will miss out on the Big West Tournament for the first time since 2015.