FULLERTON, Calif. - UC Riverside stole a point at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday night at Titan Stadium with a dramatic 1-1 draw, thanks to an 86th-minute equalizer from AJ Meade-Tatum. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Andrew Alexander and Joel Rivera made a pair of key defensive recoveries in the box in the first 12 minutes as the Highlanders were instantly put on their back foot from the opening whistle. Rivera got in the way again, this time intercepting a cross in the 30th minute. 
• Diogo Baptista launched one but went high above the top bin in the 16th minute, one match removed from a brace at UC Davis this past weekend. Brendan Clark stood over a free kick in the 23rd minute at the corner of the box, aiming for the back post and putting it right into Fullerton's goalkeeper's gloves.
• Christian Ceja brought the ball up the midfield soon after and had his centering pass outside the box intercepted. Ceja went wide with his pass on the next possession and the ball found Edward Castro in the box, but the Mt. SAC transfer wasn't able to continue his streak with a point in every match of October. 
• Castro's explosiveness, though, in the final third gave Fullerton fits well into the first half, as UCR's midfield was quick to create chances after taking time to settle into the match offensively. Nathan Scott tried his hand at a free kick in the 28th minute, but shot it straight into the wall. 
• Carlos Gonzalez protected the near post in the 39th minute and UCR's offense showed signs of life with another corner from a disrupted centering pass. 
• Both sides traded near misses in the opening three minutes of the second half, as Ceja did so for UCR but was interrupted by Fullerton's goalkeeper. A later Highlander miscue from an already-stalwart back line led to the Titans taking a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute. 
• UC Riverside had another chance at goal with a set piece in the 75th minute, crowding the net before Fullerton's back line denied the equalizer. 
• The Highlanders kicked up the urgency even more late, applying pressure in the final third in the final five minutes of the match. Meade-Tatum deflected in a set piece in the 86th minute to secure a much-needed road point for UC Riverside. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

• UCR secured its first result this season when trailing at the 75-minute mark and second draw in Big West play this season when conceding first. The Highlanders are also now 2-0-0 when scoring in the final 15 minutes. 
• Rivera was a cornerstone of UCR's back line coming off his one-match red card suspension, stymying a high-octane Fullerton side that failed to record a shot on goal until the 38th minute. 
• UC Riverside controlled 61 percent of possession in the opening 45 minutes despite taking an adjustment period to settle into Wednesday's match. 
• Meade-Tatum's third career goal kept UC Riverside in the Big West Championship postseason hunt and gave UCR back-to-back road victories for the first time in 2023.  

UP NEXT

• UC Riverside comes home to the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium on Saturday, October 21 to host Cal State Bakersfield with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+.