CSUN Soccer Team Defeats Chapman, 6-1

Marwan Ass’ad tries to downplay his Cal State Northridge soccer team’s recent rampage, perhaps in an attempt to keep the No. 3-ranked Matadors from becoming overconfident. But the team defies Ass’ad almost every time it takes the field.

Wednesday night, before a crowd of 2,000 at North Campus Stadium, CSUN again went on a tear, defeating Chapman, 6-1, and confirming the widely held belief that the only conference team that can beat CSUN at home is CSUN itself.

The defending California Collegiate Athletic Assn. champions ran Chapman ragged, jumping out to a 2-0 lead only six minutes into the first half. At halftime, CSUN led, 4-0. Chapman, which finished second to CSUN in the CCAA last season and lost to the Matadors in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, looked sluggish and played poorly. By the time the Panthers figured out what was happening, they were four goals behind.

“It was one of those nights,” Chapman Coach Eunice Bobert said. “I don’t think we played as bad as we looked. If it had to happen, it’s too bad it had to happen here.”

Bobert shouldn’t feel too bad. The Matadors (6-0-1 in conference and 12-2-2 overall) have won 25 of their last 27 games on its home field, and have won two straight CCAA titles.

And though Ass’ad refuses to say so, a third straight championship is not only possible, but probable.

“You don’t understand,” Ass’ad said. “We still aren’t there yet. We still need work on keeping the center forward and the forward in the middle and keeping everybody else out where they belong. Our passing is better, but we need to run the ball better. We still have a lot of things to work on.”

Scoring isn’t one of them.

Many fans were still searching for spots to put their seat cushions when sweeper Steve Lazarus took a pass from fullback Jose Diaz and scored past Chapman goalkeeper Keri Bello to put CSUN up, 1-0, five minutes into the first half. Less than two minutes later, midfielder Mike McAndrew, the school’s all-time assist leader, hit a free kick that was picked up by Thor Lee, who passed to Joey Kirk.

Kirk fired past Bello for CSUN’s second goal. It was the 11th goal of the season for Kirk, the team’s scoring leader. Kirk, a junior who sat out last season because of surgery on a tumor in his knee, has been a welcome addition to the Matadors, who already had a potent scoring attack led by forward John Tronson.

“Actually, Johnny helps,” Kirk said. “That’s the key. They put two guys on Johnny and it helps me get free. He attracts their top defenders.”

The attention doesn’t seem to bother Tronson, the two-time conference player of the year. With less than a minute left in the game, Tronson worked his way through traffic and scored CSUN’s final goal and his eighth of the season. Tronson is one point short of the school record (58) set by Jose Perez from 1981-1983.

McAndrew picked up his second assist of the game on another free kick, this one to Kirk, who passed off to Steve Demaine. Demaine fired past the beleaguered Bello for his second goal of the season, giving CSUN a 3-0 lead. Mike Caputo shut out the Panthers in the first half, after stopping four shots, and was replaced by freshman Jeff Blumkin. Blumkin allowed a goal by Chapman’s Scott McKrimmon.

CSUN’s Rodney Batt scored near the end of the first half on assists from Kirk and Jose Diaz. It was Batt’s fourth goal of the season.

Chapman is 3-3, 9-8-1 overall.