The Colleges : Fast Starts Sour Quickly for CSUN

Cal State Northridge has opened its football season with 3 consecutive wins for only the fifth time in school history.

That could be a bad omen, however.

In 1972, 1976 and 1986, CSUN lost its fourth game.

In 1964, the Matadors managed to win game 4, then lost their final 6.

Northridge’s opponent on Saturday is Idaho State of the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference. Idaho State, which grants more than twice the athletic scholarships CSUN does, opened the season by losing to Utah, 41-16. Last week the Bengals lost to Montana, 34-7, meaning that first-year Coach Garth Hall, a former Oregon assistant, is still looking for his first victory.

Playing conditions in Pocatello, where temperatures can reach 35 degrees below during winter, will be perfect. The reason: the Bengals play on artificial turf, indoors, at 12,000-seat Holt Arena.

The arena, which was called the Minidome last season, was the first college-owned domed football field in the nation. The Astrodome in Houston was the only dome constructed before Idaho State’s.

Injured Matador: It has been an eventful week for Richard Ane.

The junior made his first start of the season for Northridge last Saturday and hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass.

He came away from the game unscarred but was in the hospital three days later after suffering a 6-inch cut on his head in a car accident. The gash was closed with 8 stitches, but the former Saugus High and Valley College standout will need a specially padded helmet to play against Idaho State.

His injury is similar to that of diver Greg Louganis, who hit his head on a diving board in Seoul on Monday.

“Someday, maybe Richard will win a gold medal,” CSUN Coach Bob Burt quipped.

Getting his kicks: Consistency is not the strong suit of Kent Sullivan, Cal Lutheran’s punter and long-distance field-goal kicker.

He averaged 38.4 yards a punt in CLU’s 16-6 victory over Cal State Hayward last Saturday yet launched one that went 74 yards.

Sullivan also was given the opportunity to try a field goal for the first time and responded by converting from 52 yards with plenty to spare. Greg Maw kicks field goals from 40 yards and in for the Kingsmen because the coaching staff says he is . . . you guessed it, more consistent.

A scoop: Occidental is having more problems with its much maligned soccer field, which was initially too small and wouldn’t grow grass.

The playing surface has now become a favorite hangout for neighborhood dogs. And much to the chagrin of Occidental players and coaches, the dogs often use the field when nature calls.

So when a pooch trotted onto the field and did his business at halftime of the Tigers’ game against Menlo last Saturday, a referee insisted it was Occidental’s business as well.

He ordered Lowell Thomas, Occidental’s first-year coach, to remove the evidence from the scene of the crime before play resumed.

Thomas obliged, perhaps reasoning that it would serve as his initiation into the world of Division III soccer.

It’s a dog’s life, Lowell.

Less effort, more results?: It was not a performance that’s going to make anyone forget former Valley College quarterback Barry Hanks, but Todd Studer was impressive at times during Valley’s 17-13 loss to Moorpark.

Studer, a sophomore from Simi Valley High, completed 15 of 28 passes for 134 yards, but he had 3 passes intercepted in the second half.

Studer will start Saturday against an improved Santa Barbara team. Sophomore Rusty Wilson is his backup.

The rank and rankings: Northridge is unranked in the Division II soccer poll for the first time since anyone in the school’s sports information office can remember.

The Matadors, ranked No. 18 last week, dropped a 2-0 decision to Seattle Pacific on Saturday, ending CSUN’s 41-match home unbeaten streak. The Matadors had won 36 regular-season matches and tied 5 since Oct. 12, 1983.

Cal State Sacramento, Northridge’s opponent at North Campus Stadium on Friday night, is ranked No. 2.

Short streak: The Master’s College soccer team finally gained a win, a 7-0 decision over Whittier on Monday that ended the Mustangs’ season-opening winless streak at 6.

“Everything was flowing like we expected it to,” Master’s Coach Mark Schubert said. “At least now, we have a toehold on a win streak.”

The Mustangs will try to keep it going today when they travel to Azusa Pacific for an NAIA District III match. Master’s plays Cal State Northridge on Saturday night at North Campus Stadium.

Last season, the Matadors defeated the Mustangs, 3-1.

“We went in there last year with the jitters,” Schubert said. “We never really came out of it. This year might be different. We have no reason to be scared.”

Mass transit: The only junior college men’s soccer team in the area plays for Mission College, but the majority of players don’t attend school there.

Because Valley and Pierce, the only other L. A. district schools in the area, don’t field teams, players are allowed to attend classes at any of the 3 schools and play for Mission.

Of the 23 players on Coach Frank Parodi’s team, 8 attend Mission, 5 go to Valley and 10 to Pierce.

“It’s kind of a funny situation,” Parodi said. Funny as in strange.

Mission is 0-1-1 and will play host to Glendale on Friday afternoon. But don’t go to Mission expecting to find a game, or even a soccer field.

The team plays and practices at Pierce.

On the road again: The CSUN volleyball team enters play in the North Dakota State tournament as the fourth-ranked team in the Division II rankings. The Lady Matadors (6-4) trail Cal State Sacramento (11-2), North Dakota State (11-0) and Portland State (4-3) in the rankings.

Sam Farmer and staff writers Mike Hiserman, Ralph Nichols and Gary Klein contributed to this notebook.