Ass’ad, CS Northridge Playing for Keeps in Division I Soccer Debut

Marwan Ass’ad is an excitable person. When he talks about soccer, his eyes get big, his face takes on a youthful glow and his optimism is almost contagious.

Which explains why Ass’ad, the Cal State Northridge soccer coach, sounds believable when he predicts that his team can win in its first year in Division I.

“I’ve never had a team like this,” Ass’ad said. “There was so much commitment and participation in the spring and the summer.

“Judging from the desire of the players, the motivation of the players and the way they prepared themselves, I anticipate us being very competitive.”

Ass’ad takes pride in a Division II legacy that included two national runner-up finishes and six consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. titles. But, not being one to live in the past, he is ready to get on with the new challenge of qualifying for the Far West regional in his squad’s first year of Division I competition.

CSUN will take the first step toward that goal tonight at 7:30 in its Division I opener at North Campus Stadium. The opponent is UC Irvine, which went 3-15-1 last season but has seven starters returning.

The Matadors also welcomed back seven players: defenders Ed Burns, Teddy Davila and Don Imamura; midfielders Terry Davila, John Alevras, and Bobby Reyes; and halfback Scott Piri, the leading returning scorer (six goals, four assists).

Transfers Joel Entreken, a goalkeeper from Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego, and Gustavo Cardenas, an All-American forward from Cosumnes River College in San Francisco, bolster the lineup.

So do freshmen Dominic Zapata of Agoura High, Ronnie Simpson of L. A. Baptist and Armando Valdivia of Ridgecrest Burroughs. Jason Cherry, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, will backup Entreken.

Ass’ad’s optimism is not based purely on expectation. The coach cherishes his team’s previous encounters with Division I schools.

“Over the last seven years we’ve beaten top Division I teams,” Ass’ad said.

The difference now, according to Ass’ad, whose teams were 109-29-15 in Division II, is that every game counts.

“In Division II for the last seven years, when we lost a nonconference game--and we didn’t lose many--I took it as ‘well, we learned from it,’ but there was no damage,” Ass’ad said.

“But now, if you lose Sept. 1 and finish well, it can come back to haunt you. The players have known that since last spring. We made the point that it is Division I.

“You can’t come to training camp out of shape. In Division II, teams are ready to play great by October. In Division I, they are ready to play great Sept. 1.”

Another difference is the style of play.

“In Division II, we’d say, ‘we play our game, let them adapt’, “ Ass’ad said. “In Division I, we’re going to have to mark some guys. We might have to use four defenders one time and three another. Sometimes we might use five midfielders. Sometimes we’ll only use one forward.

“We will scout the teams. We will adjust and we will adapt.”

Record and strength of schedule will be used to determine who gets the five berths awarded to Division I independents for the Far West regional playoffs. An automatic berth goes to the Big West Conference champion.

San Diego State, Portland, and Washington, three of the teams who advanced to the Far West regional last season, are on the Matadors’ schedule. But so are Westmont and The Masters’ College, lower-division teams that Northridge struggled against last season in going 10-5-4.

“The schedule is not the strongest on the West Coast in Division I, but we have a very good chance of proving if we belong in the playoffs or not,” Ass’ad said.

He believes victories over UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, St. Mary’s and UC San Diego--teams he describes as “on the outside looking in”--are critical.

Certainly, they are plausible, in Ass’ad’s mind.