McAndrew’s Records Lend an Assist to CSUN Ascent

Not far from Chatsworth High, where he earned three varsity soccer letters plus All-City and West Valley League most valuable player recognition, Mike McAndrew sat and stretched on the practice field and reflected on his four-year stint as a college soccer player.

There have been many highlights for the Cal State Northridge midfielder:

Winning two straight California Collegiate Athletic Assn. titles.

Twice being named to the all-conference team.

Twice breaking the school’s single-season assist record.

Twice playing in the NCAA postseason tournament.

Twice being named team captain.

And a couple of lows:

Twice losing in the NCAA postseason tournament.

And being bypassed on the All-American team despite playing as well as as any college player in the country, according to CSUN Coach Marwan Ass’ad.

“Obviously there are a lot of good players around,” McAndrew said. But only one west of the Mississippi, Seattle-Pacific fullback David Wittrell, earned so much as second-team honors. “And they won the national championship. You look at the All-American list and there are two guys from Liberty State College and two guys from Wright College--two teams that weren’t even in the playoffs.”

This year may be different. McAndrew, who has broken his school assist record and helped CSUN turn a dismal program into one of the best in the nation, might finally reach All-American status.

“I think he should have been last season,” said Ass’ad, who began coaching in McAndrew’s first year at CSUN.

In McAndrew’s second season, the Matadors were 18-3-2, conference champions and NCAA quarterfinalists. Last season, CSUN won its second conference title, was 17-4-1 and again played two games in the postseason tournament. By the end of last season, CSUN home games were attracting more than 1,000 fans.

“When I first started here, we played in the afternoon,” he said. “There weren’t too many people there watching us.” And McAndrew wasn’t too interested in playing college soccer.

“The year I got out of high school I decided not to play,” he said. “I talked to (former coach) Rick Fonseca and everything and he sent me letters and all that. . . . but I just wasn’t going to play. I wasn’t real enthused. . . . with the program. I didn’t make great efforts to play.”

McAndrew, an excellent student majoring in engineering, figured he would concentrate on his studies. No need to be out kicking soccer balls when he had to deal with design projects and computer labs.

But before he could give the books his undivided attention, McAndrew met Ass’ad, who, in April of 1983, inherited an 8-13 team and turned it into a 12-4-5 team. McAndrew, who now is on full scholarship, made the team as a walk-on. In his second season at CSUN, McAndrew set a school record for assists with 12 and broke his own record last year with 18. He also had six goals last season.

In 1983 he was second team all-conference. He was named to the first team in ’84 and ’85. He holds the school record for career assists (40), increasing his record every time he dishes off a scoring pass. This season, he leads the team in assists with three and has one goal. The Matadors are 4-0-1 in the CCAA, 10-2-2 overall.

“He is one of the true founders of the second coming of soccer at CSUN,” Ass’ad said. “He is one of the guys who worked to get the program where it is now so we can sell so many season tickets and generate money for the program.”

McAndrew, a 22-year-old who has played soccer since he was 6, is playing his last season at CSUN. And although he said he would not mind giving it a shot for a year or two, it is unlikely that McAndrew will begin a professional soccer career.

“If playing pro were the only way he could make it in life,” Ass’ad said, “he will make it for sure. If it weren’t for the uncertainty and unstability of professional soccer in this country, Mike might give it his all to make it in soccer. . . . he could go to England, Germany, South America. He can play.”

McAndrew is on schedule to graduate with an engineering degree in two semesters. Until then, he will continue to engineer CSUN’s drive to a possible, if not probable, national championship, perhaps being named All-American along the way.

“Our first year, we did really well,” McAndrew said. “We turned it around.

“But we still played in the afternoon and didn’t get much of a crowd. The next year, a bunch of good players came and we really got things going. And the last two years, we have done great.

“For the last four years this has been practically my whole life. All the time together with all these guys. We do stuff together, we watch games together, we party together. It has been a great experience. I’m sure I’ll miss it.

“In the long run, it may slow me down. I may have to take an extra semester to graduate. If I wasn’t playing I may have been able to take a few extra classes and get out a semester early, or I could have worked and had a nicer car and been out on my own. But it’s definitely been worth it. Soccer added a lot to the whole college experience.”

FO