College Notes : Former Dominguez Hills Assistant Keeping an Eye on Lady Toro Soccer Team

Among those on hand to witness Cal State Dominguez Hills’ soccer showdown with Cal State Hayward last week was Bill Merrell, who watched the game with a more educated eye than most.

The Palos Verdes Estates resident was an assistant coach with the Lady Toros last year before moving on to UC Berkeley, where he is now the women’s head coach. Merrell’s interest was double-edged: He helped shape the Dominguez Hills team that is ranked second in the nation and first on the West Coast in Division II, and his Cal team has an upcoming game with Hayward, the defending Division II champ.

Merrell liked what he saw of the Lady Toros, who won, 2-1, and took 25 shots on goal to Hayward’s three. That ran their record to 11-0.

“This team has destiny written all over it,” he said. “They are the toughest team I have seen. They are very skilled.”

Merrell’s comments may have been a jinx--the Lady Toros suffered their first loss Monday to Division I power UC Santa Barbara--but Dominguez Hills’ convincing victory over Hayward allowed the Lady Toros to maintain their No. 2 ranking, with Hayward third. Barry College of Miami, Fla., is No. 1.

“No team in California, either Division I or Division II, likes to play Hayward,” Merrell said. “They run the counter so well you can never be sure you have enough goals.”

Nobody is eager to play Dominguez Hills, either. The Lady Toros bounced back with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night over Chapman College to improve to 12-1. It was goalie Chris Pezzulo’s 10th shutout, setting a school season record. The junior transfer from El Camino College is only four shutouts short of the career mark.

While Donna Robertson and Conni Cowman scored, Kristi White added an assist to give her 33 points for the season. She’s the school’s all-time assist leader with 26.

The Lady Toros, who play at U.S. International in San Diego on Sunday, have nine games remaining, four of them with opponents from Division II or lower. Victories in those four games would probably ensure the team a spot in the Division II playoffs.

The news wasn’t so good for the Dominguez Hills men Wednesday. In their California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener, they tied in overtime, 1-1, at Chapman despite a 24-6 shot advantage. Chapman, trying to bully the Toros, was called for 24 fouls, including five yellow cards (warning) and one red (ejection). Chapman’s coach was also ejected in overtime. A livid Toros Coach Marine Cano felt Chapman deserved even more penalties.

None of that helped Dominguez Hills, which needed a goal from Martin Mira off a pass from Matt Swindle with 12 minutes left to tie the score. It was Mira’s first goal of the season. Chapman had scored first on a 40-yard free kick. Chapman goalie Keri Bellow recorded 10 saves and played a superior game to keep the Toros out of the net.

With the tie, 20th-ranked Dominguez Hills faces something of a showdown Saturday at home against 11th ranked Cal State Bakersfield, which carries a 10-1 record and has been rated as high as second.

Haves vs. Have-nots: Soccer in the West Coast Conference is clearly a two-tier proposition. Santa Clara (8-0-1), Portland (10-0-2) and San Francisco (8-0-1) are all ranked in the top 20, and San Diego is 9-2. At the other end of the spectrum, St. Mary’s is 5-3-2 and has been outscored, and Loyola Marymount is 2-9. The conference statistics are dominated by the top four teams. Last weekend, fourth-ranked Santa Clara tied No. 2 UCLA, 1-1, and USF won three straight 1-0 games. Meanwhile, Loyola dropped a WCC match last week at Santa Clara, 7-0. Part of the disparity is because the better teams provide some scholarships and have full-time coaches, while the struggling teams are essentially club-level collections of walk-ons.

A fund-raising effort by the Cal State Dominguez Hills athletic department resulted in contributions of $45,000 last spring to help support the Toro program. Now the school is acknowledging its corporate boosters by putting up sponsorship signs around its athletic facilities. The first ones are up on the walls of the Toro gym. More are planned for the fences of the soccer, baseball and softball fields. The fund-raising effort is headed by Assistant Athletic Director Greg Bistline.

A photo in Sunday’s Times South Bay sports incorrectly identified a Cal State Dominguez Hills soccer player as Conni Cowman. The player is actually Kristi White, who scored a goal in that game against Cal State Hayward.

College Notes: The Loyola Marymount volleyball team accomplished a three-match sweep last week, largely without starting middle blocker Dawn Moon, who twisted a knee against USF and is out indefinitely. Freshman Jill Sutton is starting in her place and was singled out by Coach Mike Normand for sparking the team. . . . Freshman Raquel Glenn took to her starting assignment in the Loyola lineup, recording 35 kills in the three victories, including 13 against USF. . . . WCC player of the week Kerry House now leads the conference with a dig average of 4.31. Pepperdine’s Carolyn Hueth out of Torrance is third at 3.17. . . . Dominguez Hills assistant soccer Coach Paul Krumpe had the cast removed from his healing right leg. A member of the U.S. national soccer team, Krumpe continues to forecast a comeback in time for a showdown match Nov. 19 against Trinidad-Tobago that could decide a spot in the upcoming World Cup. He has been kicking before Dominguez Hills games. . . . Loyola’s soccer team broke a six-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory Tuesday over Pacific Christian. The Lions’ highest-scoring effort of the season was paced by Ken Warcholik’s three-goal hat trick. Jan Klein, Loyola’s leading scorer, also had a goal to give him four for the season.