Just Winning Isn’t Enough for Redlands

Since losing to the University of San Diego early in the season, the Redlands football team has been on a tear.

The Bulldogs have won five games in a row, outscoring their opponents, 226-31. Redlands appears to be peaking just in time for the NCAA Division III playoffs.

That is, if it qualifies for the Division III playoffs.

The Bulldogs are 6-1 and have clinched their second consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title, but even if they win their last two games of the regular season, against Colorado College and Cal Lutheran, there is no guarantee of a playoff berth.

Redlands, which made the playoffs last year, has yet to crack the Division III West Region rankings. The Bulldogs are listed among others receiving votes in this week’s poll.

The six teams that are ranked in the region are, in order, St. John’s of Minnesota, Simpson of Iowa, Wisconsin La Crosse, Beloit of Wisconsin, Central of Iowa and San Diego. St. John’s, Simpson and Beloit are undefeated. La Crosse and Central have lost once each, and San Diego has lost twice.

Because only four teams in each region advance to the playoffs, Redlands may have to pass at least three of those teams to qualify. But Coach Mike Maynard still is hopeful of a postseason berth.

“I feel our chances are as good as anybody’s,” he said. “There are so many variables that come into play, and it’s not something that you can talk your way into. Our power ranking is high, and I think our reputation is such that we should have a pretty good chance.”

Little did the coach suspect that the team’s 17-14 slip against San Diego early in the season might come back to haunt the Bulldogs.

“It’s just one of those things,” Maynard said. “Obviously, San Diego beat us, so they’re in position to contend for a playoff spot. But they also lost two other games by narrow margins. It’s just my feeling that one of our teams should go to the playoffs.”

What makes the situation even more frustrating to Maynard is that he feels as if the Bulldogs are playing better than they did last season, when they lost to Central in the first round of the playoffs.

Redlands would benefit from a victory over Cal Lutheran, because the Kingsmen defeated San Diego earlier in the season. But even if the team doesn’t reach the playoffs, Maynard said he will not be discouraged.

“We’re not going to slash our wrists if we don’t get in, but we think we’re playing well and deserve to be in the playoffs,” he said. “We’re the undefeated conference champions the second year in a row, and that hasn’t been done in a while and we think we’re in a pretty good league.

“Now we just want to have a chance to represent our league in the playoffs. We don’t care who we play or where it is. We just want a chance.”

The Cal Lutheran soccer program probably couldn’t ask for better results than it has enjoyed in its first season in the NCAA Division III and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Especially not after both its men’s and women’s teams won championships and received berths in the Division III playoffs that start this week.

The success is even more impressive, because both teams are coached by George Kuntz.

Cal Lutheran does not have an easy opponent in either of its first-round matches, though.

The men’s team, which tied Claremont-Mudd for the SCIAC title and finished 14-4-1, will meet 10th-ranked UC San Diego (13-4-1) in its Far West Regional opener at 2 p.m. Sunday in La Jolla.

Cal Lutheran, which coasted to the SCIAC title in women’s play, is ranked No. 20 in Division III heading into its first-round West Regional game against seventh-ranked Kalamazoo of Michigan (15-1-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at UC San Diego.

The winner will meet the winner of Saturday’s UC San Diego-St. Mary’s of Minnesota game for the regional title Sunday at the same site. The second round of the men’s playoffs will be held next week at a site to be announced.

The Cal Lutheran men are led by sophomore forward Willie Ruiz, who has a school record of 19 goals and team-leading 43 points. Another top player is sophomore goalkeeper Eddie Guerricabetia with 7 1/2 shutouts.

The women feature sophomore forward Rachel Wackerman, who has 33 goals and 71 points. They also have an outstanding goalkeeper in freshman Joann Vanderwall, who has 10 shutouts. Wackerman will face another outstanding scorer in Kalamazoo sophomore forward Jennifer Russell, who has 35 goals and 83 points.

It wasn’t easy but the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team has reached its goal of qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs.

To qualify, the Toros had to get past previously undefeated UC San Diego, the third-ranked team in Division III. They did, 2-0, last week.

Dominguez Hills, which has a 15-4-1 record and tied with Cal Poly Pomona for the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title, will meet Mercyhurst of Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon in Erie, Pa. Mercyhurst is 14-3-1 and ranked No. 4 in Division II, and Dominguez Hills is ranked No. 6.

The winner will advance to the final four tournament next week at a site to be determined.

Dominguez Hills should benefit from the services of forward Amy Rubin, who missed most of the team’s last five games with a leg injury but is expected to be ready for the playoff game. The junior leads the Toros with 16 goals and 36 points.

Another leader has been goalkeeper Briana O’Dowd, who lowered her goals-against average to 0.44 with three shutouts last week.

The Cal State San Bernardino men’s soccer team also made a big impression by reaching the playoffs in its first season in the NCAA Division II and CCAA.

The Coyotes, who finished 8-2 in the conference to finish one point ahead of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for the title and an automatic berth in the playoffs, are 15-3-2 overall. They will meet an as yet undetermined opponent in the first round of the playoffs that start next week.

While it will be the team’s first berth in the Division II playoffs, it marks the third time in the last seven years that the school has advanced to the playoffs under Coach Carlos Juarez. San Bernardino finished third in the nation in 1987 and also advanced in 1990 as a Division III independent.