CSUN Draws Old Nemesis in NCAA’s Soccer Playoffs

Chapman College Coach Eunice Bobert thought the soccer season was over for his Runnin’ Panthers, who finished second in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. behind Cal State Northridge. A spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs seemed a bit far-fetched for a 12th-ranked team with a record of 11-7-1.

Bobert wasn’t even in town Sunday when NCAA officials called the school in Orange to say his team had been chosen.

“I didn’t find out until Monday,” Bobert said.

In a rematch of the CCAA title game, Chapman will play Cal State Northridge (16-3-1) at North Campus Stadium on Saturday night at 7:30 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Far West Soccer Regional. CSUN defeated Chapman for the conference championship only two weeks ago.

The winner will play No. 3-ranked Seattle Pacific Nov. 23. Southern Connecticut State, Gannon (Penn.) University, Florida International University and Seattle Pacific each have a first-round bye.

Chapman is the only second-place team in the pairings this season, possibly because of a strong second half of its season.

“We did play a tough schedule,” Bobert said.

Bobert appeared in the 1979 NCAA tournament, a member of the Chapman team that lost to Seattle-Pacific in the first round of the playoffs.

CSUN Coach Marwan Ass’ad played for Adelphi University of New York when it beat Seattle Pacific, 3-2, for the 1974 national championship.