CSUN Looks to 3rd Straight Title After Winning, 2-0

If Saturday night’s soccer match between Cal State Northridge and Chapman was any indication of how the top two teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. will do this season, perhaps the Matadors are on their way to winning their third straight conference title.

In three games last season against the Panthers, Northridge lost only one--at Chapman. On the Panthers’ home turf Saturday night, CSUN won, 2-0, its second straight road win.

And wins on the road are especially important to the Matadors, who are virtually unbeatable at home. They play their next three games on the road against the three weakest teams in the conference: Dominguez Hills, Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly Pomona.

That means when Northridge returns home for its final five conference games, it should be slaughter time, right?

“I wouldn’t say that,” CSUN Coach Marwan Ass’ad said. “Chapman is a fine team, a very good team that has come a long way since last season. They have a better team than they did last season. You know, we too have a better team than last season.”

CSUN returns all but two starters from last season’s 17-4-1 squad that beat Chapman in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Matadors lost to eventual national champion Seattle-Pacific in the Division II quarterfinals.

One of the returnees, Mike Harvey, scored the first goal of the game against Chapman when he worked through traffic and found himself in front of Chapman goalkeeper Ken Taylor with a little more than 10 minutes left in the first half. Harvey kicked the ball past the diving Taylor for CSUN’s first goal, his second of the season. Harvey’s other goal came on Wednesday in CSUN’s conference-opening win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“Harvey is just one of the guys who is a lot better than he was last season,” Ass’ad said.

Said CSUN co-captain Mike McAndrew: “The team this season is definitely better than last year’s. We have almost everybody back, we are playing better as a team, we’re moving the ball faster but with better skill, and we’re taking better shots.”

For anyone keeping track, CSUN forward John Tronson did not score a goal or have an assist, meaning he is not any closer to the two school scoring records that he will most likely break before season’s end. But Tronson, all 6-4, 205 pounds of him, did take up some space in front of the Chapman goal in the second half, allowing fullback Thor Lee to head the ball past Taylor for CSUN’s second and final goal. Lee’s goal with 42:11 left was his fourth of the season.

In registering his fourth shutout of the season, keeper Mike Caputo also showed signs of improvement since last season. After having to make but one save in the first half, Caputo rejected a barrage of Chapman shots in the second half. Caputo, a junior from Camarillo, was backup keeper last season to Phil Heaver, who is academically ineligible this season.

“You know, Mike is just as good as Phil was, and I think he’ll probably be better,” Ass’ad said.

Chapman is 1-1 in the CCAA, 7-5-1 overall. CSUN, which plays Wednesday at Dominguez Hills, is 2-0, 8-2-1 overall.