Ass’ad Says There Is No Taming CSUN for Conference Showdown

It is 6 p.m. Wednesday, and the UCLA women’s soccer team has a two-goal lead over Cal State Northridge in the first of two games at North Campus Stadium.

About 100 yards away from the Lady Matadors’ goal, CSUN Coach Marwan Ass’ad is holding a team meeting with his men’s soccer team. In the locker room, the players are in uniform and all eyes are on Ass’ad as he delivers his pregame monologue.

CSUN’s opponent, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is bound for defeat somewhere along Interstate 5.

It’s more than 1 1/2 hours before game time.

“We have to spend a lot of time together before the game,” Ass’ad later said. “That way, they’ll have a lot of time to think about what they’re going to do. It gives them a lot of time to think about how the other team is going to play.

“If we only talk for five minutes, there isn’t enough time for everything they need to be thinking about to settle in.”

The team had a lot to think about.

Earlier this season, the Matadors were charging over opponents on their way to accomplishing their goal of a national championship.

They were highly ranked. They were unbeatable. They couldn’t be scored upon.

Then they lost.

Twice.

“For some reason, we dipped coming into league,” fullback Thor Lee said. “We thought we had the conference wrapped up. Then everybody realized we weren’t as good as we thought.”

The Matadors had reason to think they were good--really good.

“The pressure has been on us since last season,” said midfielder Mike Harvey, referring to CSUN’s 18-2-1 record in 1984 and second-round playoff appearance. “People expect a lot from us. When we lost, people would say, ‘What happened to you guys?’ ”

For starters, they dropped a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game, their first, to Chapman College, 1-0. A week later, they were upset by Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1.

“Just another mediocre performance,” said forward John Tronson following the game.

It seemed Ass’ad’s kingdom of kickers was crumbling.

Suddenly, the No. 1 team in the NCAA Far West region was 5-2 in CCAA play and 12-3 overall.

“Nobody could figure it out,” Harvey said.

Eventually, Ass’ad did and realigned his offense.

“I want nothing but tigers on the field,” he said. “The hell with the super-finesse players and the super-skill players. We have enough of them. We want players on the field who don’t give a damn about themselves. Tigers.

“If we lose, it will be with the less-talented players who have more pride, more guts.”

Saturday night at 7:30, the tigers will be on the prowl against Chapman, which calls itself the “No-Goal Patrol.” The CCAA conference championship will be at stake. CSUN could have wrapped it up Wednesday with the 2-1 win over Cal Poly--if only it had beat the Runnin’ Panthers earlier this season. If the game finishes in a tie, Chapman wins the title.

“It’s now or never,” Lee said. “But I think we’ll take Chapman.”

Forward Dean Freeman added: “We will if we play like we did (against SLO). We’re playing a little more physical than we did before and I think, when the game starts, we’ll be a little more hyped up.”

As will Chapman, which hasn’t won a CCAA title since 1979. But the Matadors’ toughest conference game, Ass’ad said, is behind them.

“The game we had to win was (Cal Poly),” he said. “It was harder, I think, than the Chapman game will be. We lost to them earlier, but now they have to come here and play. They know they have to play us at home.”

And home is where the Matadors play best. They haven’t lost at North Campus Stadium since the second round of the NCAA playoffs last season against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

“We must win,” Ass’ad said. “That doesn’t mean we play so hard that we lose, but as soon as we lose a ball, we play with the eye of the tiger. All the tigers have to be out there putting on the pressure.

“Pressure,” repeated Ass’ad, his eyes growing big, “Always pressure, pressure, pressure.”

Notes

Team selections for the NCAA Division II playoffs will be made by Nov. 10. The first round of the playoffs will be completed by Nov. 17. Dates for the remaining playoff games: second round, Nov. 24; semifinals, Dec. 1; finals, Dec. 7-8. Playoff sites have yet to be announced. . . . Chapman College, which has a better CCAA conference record than CSUN, could win the conference and still not be invited to the playoffs. The reason: overall record. Chapman has six losses to the Matadors’ three. CSUN (14-3) also has played more games. To Chapman’s credit, the Runnin’ Panthers have played against teams such as Clemson, which is the defending NCAA Division I champion, and the University of Tampa, another Division I power. . . . CSUN will play Brigham Young on Nov. 7 and Cal State Los Angeles on Nov. 10. Both games are at North Campus Stadium.