Coming to Grips With Women’s Soccer

When Cypress College started its women’s soccer program last fall, the Chargers went with a coach who had plenty of experience--just not in soccer.

But the Chargers haven’t suffered a bit and are 3-1 this season under Coach Ray Haas, who spent 23 years heading up the school’s wrestling program before switching to soccer last fall. Haas’ wrestling teams had a record of 293-48-3 and won 11 conference titles. He made the move because he no longer felt the wrestlers, as a whole, were working as hard as he and his assistants.

“My coaching attitude is a lot more positive,” Haas said about soccer. “Now, I don’t go out to the field wondering what negative thing will happen next. The return from the athletes has been positive so far.”

Haas, who had never coached soccer before but had two children who grew up playing the sport, led Cypress to a 9-4-2 record and a fourth-place finish in the Orange Empire Conference last season.

This season, the Chargers have outscored their opponents, 33-2.

Cypress started the season by winning four matches in the Bakersfield Soccerfest. Because the matches were 60 minutes rather than 90, the individual statistics count but the matches don’t affect a team’s win-loss record. Cypress outscored opponents, 16-0, in Bakersfield then beat The Master’s, 9-0, in a nonconference match last Tuesday.

Danielle Straub, a freshman from Estancia High School, has eight goals to lead the Chargers in scoring. Sophomore Laurie Wilson is second with six. Last season, Wilson was the leading scorer among Orange County community college players with 17 goals.

Cypress also returned two all-conference players in team MVP Stacy Darin, a midfielder who scored eight goals and had 16 assists last year, and sweeper Amy Wagner.

Cypress opens conference play on Friday with a 3 p.m. match at Orange Coast.

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Football poll: Saddleback, which pounded Southwestern, 48-0, Saturday remains the top-ranked team in the Southland Poll.

Palomar (1-0) is second, El Camino (1-0) third, Bakersfield (1-0) fourth, Cerritos (2-0) fifth, Pasadena (2-0) sixth, Moorpark (1-0) seventh, San Bernardino Valley (1-0-1) eighth, Glendale (1-0) ninth and Santa Barbara (1-0) 10th.

Saddleback plays host to Cerritos at 7 p.m. Saturday. In other Saturday games involving local and top-10 teams: Golden West (0-1) travels to San Marcos High School for a 1:30 p.m. game with Palomar, El Camino is at Fullerton (0-1) at 7 p.m. and Pasadena plays Rancho Santiago (1-0) at Santa Ana Stadium at 7 p.m.

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It’s in the water: Golden West began the year as the No. 1 water polo team in the state and solidified that ranking during the weekend by winning the Cuesta tournament. Golden West beat West Valley, 8-6, in the title match Saturday after defeating Orange Coast, 12-8, in the semifinals.

Top rankings and State titles are nothing new for the Rustlers (4-0), who are the three-time defending champions. Golden West also won five consecutive State titles from 1978-82 and again in ’76 and ’85. Golden West won the Southern California championship in 1984, but no State tournament was held that year.

Community College Notes

Golden West plays host to Miami Dade in a women’s volleyball match at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Miami Dade won the national junior college title in 1986 and ’89. Golden West is the two-time defending State champion. . . . David Boyle, who played basketball last season at Cypress College, is currently enrolled at UCLA and trying to make the team as a walk-on. Boyle, who played at Mater Dei High, played at Holy Cross as a freshman before coming to Cypress last season. Boyle, a 6-foot-5 swing player, averaged 15 points and was an All-Orange Empire Conference player last year.