Dominguez Hills Is Shying Away From ‘R’ Word

Briana O’Dowd and Amy Rubin are at opposite ends of the same line.

O’Dowd doesn’t want to see another goal this year. Rubin wants as many as possible.

It makes sense, though, since O’Dowd is the goalie and Rubin the all-time leading scorer for the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team.

And the line they walk and talk is the party line--that they have no personal goals, that they are looking only toward the next game.

That might be as hard to do as it is to imagine, because the Toros won the NCAA title last season and appear to be stronger. They are the top-ranked team in Division II.

“We’re getting there,” O’Dowd said, comparing this year’s team to last season’s. “It’s starting to come through--we have more experience.”

Rubin is not so sure.

“It’s hard to say,” she said. “We’re not halfway through the season yet. But I think we have just as good a chance.”

The word she is not saying is repeat .

Saying that word around the Toro soccer field is like saying no-hitter in the dugout when one is in progress.

“It’s not even a thought,” O’Dowd said.

“We don’t talk about national championships,” said Marine Cano, who coaches both the men’s and women’s programs at Dominguez Hills. “We only talk about one game at a time. Our long-term goals are to get better every game and to be one of the better teams at the end.”

They should be.

Adding to the depth are a defender and midfielder from Sonoma State, the team the Toros defeated for the NCAA title last season. Tricia Fuller and Jill Henderson transferred because they missed living in the South Bay.

“It’s a different world out there,” Henderson said of Sonoma. “It’s going from the beach area to cow country. I couldn’t get used to seeing sheep outside my window. It was really hard to adjust.”

The effect is that Dominguez Hills has no real weakness and has overcome early-season injuries with outstanding play by Jennifer Grasso, Jennifer Womack and Teresa Bateman.

Cal Poly Pomona, the Toros’ primary rival in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference, found that out Saturday when Dominguez Hills defeated the Broncos, 2-0.

Cal State San Bernardino could be competitive with Pomona. Jackie Powers and Roseanne Dominguez are first and fourth in conference scoring for the Coyotes, and Chapman probably will be a spoiler at best.

In contrast, the CCAA men’s soccer race is wide open.

Cal State Los Angeles returns from Division I and was off to a 5-0 start before CCAA play. The Golden Eagles found it tough going in conference play, however, with a defeat and two ties in their first three games.

Still, Cal State Los Angeles figures to be tough, with Jesus Gonzales leading the attack and Peter Prieto in the goal.

Cal State San Bakersfield has nearly its entire team back--including Jeremy Gunn. Gunn is leading the conference in scoring and has Bakersfield on top of the standings a third of the way into the season.

After the season ended last year, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had to forfeit all of its games because it had used an ineligible player. But this season a return to the final four seems possible and the team is ranked third in the nation. Three players--Todd Henry, Chris Fisher and Mike Black--are in the top 10 in conference scoring, and San Luis Obispo defeated CS Los Angeles in their first meeting this season, 2-1.

Defending conference champion Cal State San Bernardino is off to a rocky start. Rolando Uribe, a center-forward, leads the Roadrunners, who rely on ball control and speed.

Dominguez Hills, still somewhat in the shadow of its women’s team, is led by Gerrardo Yepez, an All-American candidate. Inexperience has hurt the Toros, though, and with three defeats, Dominguez Hills might have too deep a hole to climb out of.

Neither Cal Poly Pomona nor Chapman expected to contend for the title, but Chapman has been competitive, despite having lost goalie Craig Bennet. Pomona pulled a mild upset when it defeated Dominguez Hills on Saturday.

Westmont, ranked fifth in National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics, and Fresno Pacific, ranked 16th, are the elite of the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Southern California College, Point Loma Nazarene and Cal Baptist could be dangerous, but they will probably battle for third.

Occidental won “the Shoes” by defeating Whittier in an SCIAC football game Saturday, 34-6.

Not that they were barefoot before. “The Shoes” is a rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the series each season. They are bronzed cleats that were once worn by Whittier All-American Myron Claxton.

College Division Notes

A controversial proposal at the NAIA convention last week failed. Amendment XV was a motion that would have allowed athletes who gave up their senior year of eligibility to participate again if they failed to make it on the professional level.

The West Coast Conference will not be expanding to include Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the school was informed last Tuesday. San Luis Obispo and UC Davis made a joint inquiry about gaining membership. The conference did not give specifics, but Davis and San Luis Obispo were told that expansion, not the schools, was the sticking point. Both schools will move to Division I next year and are looking to align themselves with a small-school conference.

Estela Gutierrez has been promoted to softball coach at Dominguez Hills. Gutierrez replaces Janice Ruetz, who left to become the director of physical education for the Palm Springs Unified School District. Gutierrez was an assistant to Ruetz last season. . . . The Cal Lutheran football team, which lost to San Diego when a last-second field-goal attempt failed, has lost three games by a total of eight points this season.