CSUN Soccer Team, Ranked 5th in U.S., Begins League Play

Cal State Northridge’s soccer team, which is defending conference champion and ranked fifth in the nation, opens California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play at home tonight against Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30.

The Matadors, ranked first in the NCAA Division II Far West region, go into tonight’s game with a 7-1 preseason record. Last season, CSUN compiled a 9-1-2 conference record to win its first CCAA championship. The Matadors, who finished 18-3-2 overall in 1984, advanced to the second round of the Division II playoffs.

“Northridge is one of the best teams on the West Coast in Division II or Division I,” Pomona Coach Otto Rieger said. Rieger’s players have scored only 10 goals in nine games this season and have given up 25.

Pomona, which struggled to a 2-6-1 preseason record, has been plagued by injuries and inexperience. Scott Lacher, who led Pomona with 19 goals last season, is out indefinitely with an ankle problem. The Broncos, who finished third in the CCAA last season with a 6-4-2 record, have only five upperclassmen on a team of 20 players.

CSUN’s only loss this season came at the hands of Nevada Las Vegas, which is ranked 11th in Division I. The Matadors also dropped a 1-0 scrimmage to UCLA, ranked third in Division I.

The Matadors are one of only three teams west of the Mississippi ranked in the latest Intercollegiate Soccer Assn. of America poll. CSUN, coming off a 3-1 victory over Westmont on Wednesday, has scored 22 goals this season and has given up only three. The Matadors have also recorded six shutouts.