College Division / Mitch Polin : On This Point, Claremont Got a Bit Defensive

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team accomplished a scoring rarity in its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Whittier on Saturday night.

The Stags scored a defensive extra point. Make that two points.

Under a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rule that took effect last season, a play is considered live on extra-point attempts, not dead once the attempt fails, as it was previously.

That means a defense can block a point-after attempt or intercept a two-point conversion pass and return it the length of the field for two points.

Grayle Howlett, publicity director for the SCIAC and California Collegiate Athletic Assn., said that it has not occurred often since the rule has been in place. In fact, it had never happened before in an SCIAC game.

But it happened in Claremont’s game against Whittier, after Whittier drove for a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, cutting its deficit to 21-13.

On the conversion attempt, Claremont defensive back Mike McCorkle blocked the kick and the ball bounced to teammate Jon Bagatelos, who took it 75 yards for the score and a 23-13 lead.

It was a first for Claremont, which had a near miss when it scored in the same fashion in a game against Trinity of Texas last season, only to have the play called back because of a penalty.

The play did little to faze Whittier. The Poets rallied to score two more touchdowns for a 27-23 win. It was the first victory of the season for Whittier (1-2). Claremont fell to 0-3.

The season didn’t get off to the best start for either the Cal State Northridge or Occidental football teams but things have looked considerably better lately.

After dropping its first two games to NCAA Division I teams, 28-9 to Cal State Long Beach and 27-20 to Cal State Fullerton, Northridge has rebounded for three consecutive comeback victories against Division II squads.

The Matadors defeated Sonoma State, 15-10, Central State of Oklahoma, 31-28, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 13-10. The prospect also appears good for another victory Saturday when Northridge plays host to struggling Cal Lutheran (1-3).

Occidental also opened its season with two losses, 16-14 to Menlo and 14-0 to Azusa Pacific.

Since then, the Tigers picked up a win off the field when Azusa Pacific forfeited the game because it used an ineligible player.

On the field, Occidental (3-1) has won its last two games by scores of 24-14 over Pomona-Pitzer and 24-12 over La Verne. The Tigers have a bye Saturday but face a difficult test against the University of San Diego (4-0) on Oct. 14.

With less than a month remaining in the season, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team appears to be well on its way toward its first NCAA Division II playoff berth.

The Toros (11-1), ranked No. 2 in Division II, certainly took a big step in the right direction with a 2-1 victory over Cal State Hayward on Saturday.

It was a significant win considering that Hayward was ranked No. 3 and has been one of the top teams in the West in Division II in recent years. The Toros also defeated Sonoma State, another top-ranked team from the West, on Sept. 15.

That appears to put the Toros in a solid position to reach the four-team Division II playoffs in November. Barry University of Florida is the top-ranked team in Division II.

Two players from Dominguez Hills have also put themselves in good position for All-American honors.

Leading the way on offense has been senior forward Kristi White, who has 11 goals and 10 assists. That’s more points than some teams have scored this season.

White is the school’s all-time leader in points with 79 and assists with 25 and also has 27 goals, which leaves her two short of the record held by Michele Salas.

Perhaps even more impressive has been the play of goalkeeper Chris Pezzulo, a junior transfer from El Camino College. Pezzulo has an 0.22 goals-against average with nine shutouts. She has already tied the school record for most shutouts in a season that was established by Sandra Powers in 1986.

College Division Notes

After winning its first 10 games, including three games over NCAA Division I opponents, the Cal State Bakersfield men’s soccer team finally had its first setback in a 2-0 loss to Cal State Sacramento last Saturday in Sacramento. Even so, the Roadrunners are ranked No. 2--their highest ranking ever--in the latest Division II poll and No. 1 in the West Region. Bakersfield should get a strong challenge in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. race from defending champion Cal State Northridge--a Division II finalist last season.

For the second week in a row, UC Riverside (12-3) has been ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II women’s volleyball. Other CCAA teams listed in the top 20 are Cal State Northridge at No. 4, Cal State Bakersfield at No. 13, Chapman at No. 16 and Cal Poly Pomona at No. 17. . . . Defending champion Point Loma Nazarene will be among the favorites in both the men’s and women’s divisions at the Golden State Athletic Conference cross-country championships Oct. 14 at Morley Field in San Diego. Westmont and Azusa Pacific are also among the top teams in the women’s division.

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s soccer team is off to one of its best starts with an 8-0-1 record and is ranked No. 16 in the latest NCAA Division III poll. The Stags have been led by senior goalkeeper Steve Goodson, who began the week with seven consecutive shutouts and 28 in his career. . . . Cal State San Bernardino will hold a free soccer clinic for boys and girls in high school and younger at noon Oct. 22 on the school’s soccer field. Women’s coach Ralph Perez, who is also an assistant with the U.S. national team, and men’s coach Carlos Juarez will be instructors.

The Cal State San Bernardino men’s soccer team, trying to stay in position for an NCAA Division III playoff berth with a 6-3 record, split its matches against two of the top teams in the West Region in Division III last week. The sixth-ranked Coyotes defeated Macalester of St. Paul, Minn., 2-1, and lost to Colorado College, 5-1, at the Colorado College tournament in Colorado Springs.