CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE SOCCER PREVIEW : Ass’ad Takes Global View of Recruiting for Matadors

It used to be as simple as shopping.

Marwan Ass’ad, coach of the Cal State Northridge soccer team, would take a checklist around to area high schools, load up on talent, then concoct a squad worthy of challenging for a national championship.

The formula helped Northridge become one of the top Division II teams in college soccer during the 1980s. The Matadors posted a 109-29-15 record from 1983-89.

Now Northridge plays at the Division I level and the composition of the team reflects the change.

Local products remain an integral part of the program. No less than four players from the San Fernando Valley were in the starting lineup Saturday as Northridge opened its second season as a Division I independent with a 1-0 loss to UC Irvine.

Included are team captain Ed Burns, a fullback-midfielder from Birmingham High; the midfield brother combination of Terry and Teddy Davila from Reseda High; and midfielder John Alevras of Burbank High.

However, a quick check of the Northridge roster also reveals players who hail from such distant lands as Ethiopia, Lebanon and Cyprus.

Ass’ad said the diverse backgrounds are the result of a natural evolution in the program. If Northridge wanted to sustain its winning ways at the Division I level, Ass’ad had to seek out the best players available even if it meant scouring the world to find them.

Danny Daniels, Gus Cardenas and Bobby Reyes, the top three scorers from last season’s 9-7-3 team, all were recruited from high schools outside the area.

“The last two years this team has not been Valley boys,” said Ass’ad, whose team will take a 1-1 record into Saturday night’s home opener against The Master’s College at 7. “It became a California team.”

And beyond.

“When Marwan first started coaching here there wasn’t much money in the program and players would come to him to play because CSUN had a good team, Marwan was a good coach and it didn’t cost that much to go here,” Burns said. “With the move to Division I, I think you’ll see a lot more recruitment of better players. Marwan has built a real strong following and now he has more bargaining power in recruiting players.”

This season Northridge’s “California” team has extended its boundaries. Ass’ad has added three players--all starters--who grew up abroad.

Leading the list of newcomers is senior Belete Bekele, a 5-foot-8, 141-pound midfielder-forward from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, who transferred from Alabama A&M.; An artistic player with the ball, Bekele figures to play a key role in reversing last year’s scoring drought.

“He’s our most offense-minded midfielder. He’s so smooth,” said Ass’ad, who first spotted Bekele during an off-season pick-up game. “The fans are going to love him.”

Bekele is joined in the offensive attack by forwards Daniels and Cardenas. Daniels, who came to CSUN from Cyprus, led the Matadors with 10 goals and five assists in 1990. Cardenas, a Baldwin Park product who also plays midfielder, was second with seven goals and five assists.

The Matador defense features two new fullbacks--Teferi Michael, another Ethiopian who transferred from Alabama A&M;, and Amad El-Zarou, a freshman from Tripoli, Lebanon.

El-Zarou simply approached Ass’ad one day during the spring and inquired about a tryout.

“He came up to me in the spring and said, ‘Are you the soccer coach?’ ” Ass’ad said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Do you speak Arabic?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ ”

A few months later, Northridge had a new starting fullback.

The Matadors’ last line of defense is provided by senior goalkeeper Joel Entreken, a returning starter from La Costa, Calif., who allowed an average of 1.22 goals last season.

Since Northridge did not lose any players from last year’s team to graduation, the Matadors possess experience and depth. Senior midfielder Reyes is being pushed for his starting position by sophomores Dominic Zapata (12 points in 1990) and Armando Valdivia, along with three-year letterman Scott Piri.

Senior Keith Martin, a redshirt in 1990, and junior Declan Marmion, a part-time starter last year, are considered possible starters at fullback. Midfielders Steve Linhart and Matt Ziegler also figure to get ample playing opportunities.

Ass’ad termed last season a “losing year”--one that he will forget only if Northridge makes the playoffs this season.

The difference, he says, will be whether the Matadors play not only like a team but a family.

“We got into our egos and selfishness,” Ass’ad said of last year’s team. “I kept telling them, ‘You’re good people and if good people stand together they will be great.’ ”

To overcome the lack of unity, Ass’ad resorted to some unconventional coaching techniques that included everything from friendly talks of encouragement to heated “group therapy” sessions.

“Some of them never trusted anybody,” Ass’ad said. “Some of them thought they couldn’t trust me. We had a lot of group therapy.

“It was a 24-hour job. We still have to prove we are a unit every day.”

As far as Ass’ad is concerned, a family that plays together advances to the playoffs together.

“If we do the best we can within reason, we will go to the playoffs,” Ass’ad said. “If we put it all together, we will compete for a national championship.”