Revenge Sweet for Chapman Soccer Team

As the only non-scholarship men’s soccer team in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., Chapman has taken plenty of lumps in conference play the last two seasons.

In 1990, the Panthers lost all 10 of their conference matches. Last season they improved to 2-6-2, but Cal State San Bernardino clinched the conference title by beating the Panthers in Orange and then celebrated by taking a victory lap.

Chapman players say certain conference teams, including San Bernardino, haven’t respected them because they don’t have athletic scholarships.

Friday, the Panthers got their first taste of retaliation by upsetting San Bernardino, 3-2, in overtime.

Perhaps, San Bernardino, ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division II, was looking beyond Chapman to the Coyotes’ match against UCLA on Sunday (UCLA won, 5-0), but Chapman’s victory was a shocker, nevertheless.

“It was huge,” Chapman Coach Gregg Murphy said. “It is the biggest win that Chapman has had in at least six years. There’s no doubt about it.”

San Bernardino never trailed in regulation, but the Panthers sent the match into overtime with less than two minutes remaining when Dean Laird headed in Erick Hurtarte’s corner kick.

Kirk Feiereisen scored in the first overtime and the Panthers hung on for the victory, then started their own celebration.

“I thought they were going to strip down naked and run around the field,” Murphy said.

It was especially satisfying to the core group of players who have endured the lean times.

“We’ve been an underdog in every game since I started and our opponents have sometimes looked down their noses at us,” said Ryan Hill, a senior defender who transferred from Cypress College before the 1990 season. “So it has been hard to take some of the losses.”

Probably the hardest to take was last season’s finale, the 2-0 loss to San Bernardino that inspired the Coyotes’ victory lap.

“It wasn’t that it wasn’t classy or anything,” Hill said. “I’m sure we would have done the same thing, but we wanted to pay them back. That’s all we talked about all week. We wanted to pay them back for celebrating on our field.”

When Eddie Soto, leading scorer for the Panthers and in the conference last season, transferred to Cal State Fullerton, Murphy wondered where Chapman’s offense was going to come from this season.

But without Soto to depend on, the Panthers (2-1) have developed better balance. Forwards Feiereisen, a Brea-Olinda graduate who last played collegiately for Fullerton College in 1989, and Dustin Kemmerer, a sophomore from El Toro provide punch up front and midfielders Javier Maciel (Bell Gardens), Hurtarte (Bell Gardens), Scott Montroy (El Toro) and Armando Orizaba (Katella) also contribute.

The defense, which Murphy says is among the strongest in the conference, is the team’s most experienced unit with three-year starters Laird, Hill and Gabe LaRusso returning.

“Friday night was the result of two years of serious dedication,” Murphy said. “You would think they were Division I athletes on scholarship. They’re committed and they believe they can do something here despite the limitations we have.

“They’re not just a bunch of party guys who want to come out and kick the ball around. They believe they can be a contender in this conference.”

However, it’s still early in the season and Murphy hasn’t ordered any championship rings. Chapman last won the conference championship in 1979 and last made the NCAA playoffs in 1985.

“We’re definitely not the best team in our conference,” Murphy said. “I still feel we’re one of the underdogs. It’s just that we caught San Bernardino on a good night.”

Laird, a co-captain, says the Panthers have already gotten over the euphoria of the victory.

“It’s done,” Laird said. “Right now, I’m sure the other teams aren’t looking at Chapman as a good team. I’m sure they must think San Bernardino played badly.

“We still have to prove to ourselves and to others that we can play these teams with scholarships.”

Notes

Chapman goalkeeper Craig Bennett will miss the rest of the season after seriously injuring his knee during the season-opening victory over Christ College Irvine Sept. 7. Bennett, a sophomore from Santa Rosa, ruptured a ligament and is expected to undergo reconstructive surgery. Scott Zinser, a freshman from Katella, replaced Bennett and saved the Panthers’ victory over San Bernardino when he blocked a penalty kick late in overtime. . . . The Chapman women’s volleyball team, ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division II, swept four matches at the UC Davis round-robin tournament last weekend to improve its record to 6-2. Sophomore middle blocker Jenny Gunderson led the Panthers with 66 kills in the tournament. Tuesday, the Panthers lost to Westmont in four games. Next up: the Cal State Dominguez Hills tournament, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.