Analysis : Northridge Exhibits a Loyal Following in NCAA Soccer Finals

Contrary to what had been predicted by Cal State Northridge soccer Coach Marwan Ass’ad, “the whole Valley” (i.e., a capacity crowd of 6,000 fans) did not show up at North Campus Stadium last weekend to watch CSUN play for the NCAA Division II championship.

But 4,588 did attend--a significant achievement and one that was not lost on the Northridge coach, who maintained a positive outlook after the Matadors were defeated by the Florida Institute of Technology, 3-2, in the final.

“What we saw here tonight was the work of six years,” Ass’ad said of the turnout.

In two years, Northridge is scheduled to begin playing a Division I schedule in all sports except football. CSUN will need to generate more money and support from its surrounding community in order to be competitive at the top collegiate level.

There are plenty of skeptics who say it will never happen. Some say that Northridge will never become a San Diego State or Fresno State, much less escape the shadow of USC and UCLA.

But then there is soccer, a shining example of a little program that could--and did.

The two-day Final Four, which drew almost 9,000 fans, netted a profit of approximately $20,000 in gate receipts alone. Financially, it was the most successful weekend of athletics in the history of the school, although the NCAA--not CSUN--took home the majority of the money.

By comparison, UCLA, which has one of the top Division I programs in the nation, drew a crowd of 1,097 to its Nov. 13 playoff game at home against San Diego State. The Bruins average home attendance this season, according to a school official, was about 700--about half of Northridge’s average draw.

The Matador football team drew more than 4,500 for 4 of its 5 home games. But students with school identification cards were admitted free. In the soccer tournament, run by the NCAA, everyone paid.

In 1983, Ass’ad’s first year as CSUN’s coach, the Matadors averaged a crowd of only a few hundred at home matches.

There are now that many season-ticket holders.

Credit the coach who used, of all things, a personal touch to spark interest in his program.

Fans eventually may have been drawn to the team by its success. Ass’ad, who lived in a trailer on campus during his first few years as coach, didn’t wait that long. He took his team to the fans.

Northridge held clinics. Ass’ad, sometimes with players in tow, attended youth soccer matches.

It was not, Ass’ad says, merely a public-relations ploy.

“I’m not there as a coach. I’m just there, one of them,” Ass’ad said. “People cannot be fooled. I’m sincere and I love kids. I have a young family myself so it is a perfect time for me. Soccer is a good opportunity to become friends with everybody. There was no plan to it.”

Those friends and acquaintances showed up last weekend in living colors--those of their youth soccer teams.

Art Grofsky, whose 2 children play in leagues at Winnetka Park, said the dramatic turnout was simply a matter of returning some attention. The gratitude was heard loud and clear. When CSUN was introduced, the Matador players each received ovations. But none matched the rousing cheer awarded their coach.

“Marwan has done a lot for the sport in this area,” Grofsky said. “He gets personally involved and it creates a lot of interest in the team.”

Said Lloyd Ross of Van Nuys: “He’s out there at the games and you can tell he’s not just showing his face. He really cares about the kids.”

Many of those same youngsters attend Ass’ad’s soccer camps during the summer, where they receive instruction from both the coach and his players. “Then the kids want to come out and see the guys who worked with them play,” said Rick Iversen, a CSUN defender. “It’s a smart system.”

A good system, Ass’ad admits, but saying it was smart would imply that it was planned.

“There are so many kids who play soccer, but the level of soccer is so low,” Ass’ad said. “Very few coaches know what they’re doing. I said, ‘I know a little about the game . . . We’ll take our players and go about and teach.’ That’s all. But I’m not surprised they show up.

“We work. That’s our team. We give it all we’ve got. There’s a lot of love, a lot of friendship, a lot of sincerity in our program towards the community. We win, we all win.”

The biggest winner last weekend was the sport itself.

“At our normal home game, we’re lucky to have 200,” FIT Coach Rick Stottler said. “These are tremendous fans.”

Stottler’s comments may, of course, have been swayed a bit because he was speaking less than 20 minutes after his team had received a long and loud ovation while taking a victory lap around the CSUN field.

“We had heard they had a great following,” Stottler said. “But still we were surprised.”

That comment itself seemed as gratifying to Ass’ad as a victory in the game might have been.

“The whole program is like our baby,” Ass’ad said. “I want to show it to everybody in the nation. Very, very few schools have what we have. I’ve been to other colleges. I tell our players, ‘You’re not in this yourself you know. There are so many people who care about you, so many people who when you play away pick up the paper to see how you did.’

“We grew this year. We added to our family by probably 1,000 more. That’s success, man. That’s success.”