Toreros Fight for Respect as They Prepare for Playoffs : Soccer: Beating top-ranked team got USD only to No. 13 in poll.
When you’re ranked 14th in the nation and you win three consecutive games over a two-week period, you kind of expect to rise in the polls. But the USD men’s soccer team, which did win three in a row after receiving the 14th slot earlier this season, plummeted to No. 25.
“I don’t think they’re giving us any respect,” senior striker Chugger Adair said. “The polls have been inconsistent all year.”
Adair was talking about USD, but he also was making a point about the Toreros’ first-round opponent in the NCAA playoffs, Stanford. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Torero Stadium.
Stanford (11-7-2) comes in unranked, but, in defiance of its standing, the Cardinal did something USD has never done in soccer. It beat UCLA, 2-1 in a shootout, last week to catapult into the 28-team draw. UCLA (13-2-3) is ranked No. 5.
USD (15-6), meantime, raised its stock to No. 13 last weekend. To accomplish that, it had to beat then-No. 1 Portland, and did so convincingly, 3-0. But instead of persuading the voters to rank USD among the top 10, as Coach Seamus McFadden expected, the victory convinced them only to drop Portland all the way down to No. 18.
“We should be in the top 10,” McFadden said, “but I’ve never really concerned myself with the poll because it’s not done right. There’s just too many inconsistencies.”
The Toreros say they’re performing in a cloud of anonymity, but that might be best--it’ll make for a dramatic finish. They actually think they can sweep through the entire bracket with five victories and come away with the title.
“If we play like we did Friday (against Portland),” said sweeper Roger Lindqvist, “we can go all the way. We can win the championship.”
Lindqvist and Adair have shouldered much of the responsibility for raising USD’s standards from a 7-12 team a year ago. Lindqvist is an exchange student from Sweden who fled that country because of a poor economy.
“The unemployment there is terrible,” he said. So bad, in fact, that putting off a job search and biding time in recession-plagued Southern California became an attractive alternative.
Adair transferred to USD three years ago from San Diego State. Although he was a factor on the 1990 team that entered the NCAA championships for the first time in school history, he missed most of last season with injuries.
Because of his height, 6-feet-5, Adair has been able to dominate opposing defenses in the air. Many of his West Coast Conference-leading 15 goals have come off headers. Adair also leads the conference with 38 points, and his scoring prowess has helped USD increase its goal total from 29 a year ago to 61 this season.
“The big key for us this year has been the health of Chugger Adair,” McFadden said. “He’s really a tremendous player. I think he will go on to play at the next level.”
The level McFadden has in mind is Europe’s professional leagues.
As greedy as the Toreros are on offense, they are equally stingy on defense, allowing opponents only 27 goals in 19 games. A major factor is Lindqvist.
Lindqvist, 6-2, has been able to match Adair’s dominance in the air--but on defense.
“He wins all the high balls,” said midfielder Toby Taitano. “And he reads the game so well.”
Added Adair, “He’s the last man back, and he’s stopping everyone and really taking charge.”
Lindqvist has allowed USD’s halfbacks to shirk some of their defensive responsibilities and move up on offense. At least four midfielders--Taitano, Doug Barry, David Beal and Kevin Legg--have responded with much higher output than a year ago.
Taitano’s production is the most improved. After assisting on 15 goals his first season with USD, a freshman school record, he fell to three in 1991. This year he has regained his freshman form, piling up 13 assists.
“We were spoiled with (All-American) Truong Nguyen at sweeper two years ago,” McFadden said. “When he graduated, we had a big void back there. Numerous kids tried out at the position, but none of them could do it.”
At least not until Lindqvist arrived from Sweden, where he played in that country’s first division (at Halmstad) and with the Olympic team.
It wasn’t any great recruiting effort by McFadden that brought the defender to USD. All McFadden did was answer a letter. Lindqvist sent queries to 15 colleges, and McFadden was the only one who replied.
“I wasn’t even sure if they had a program here,” Lindqvist said. “But (McFadden) called me up and then came to see a few of my games.”
Another key addition has been a freshman, striker Guillermo Jara, who has pumped in 12 goals and assisted on 14 others. He’s tied with Adair as the conference leader in points (38).
“It’s nice to have that kind of offense,” McFadden said. “And that’s been the difference this year.”
If this bunch remains anonymous in collegiate soccer circles, it is at least gaining stature on campus.
“Someone came up to David Beal at a party after we beat Portland,” remembered midfielder Kevin Legg. “He walked up to him and said, ‘Thanks a lot--you made USD feel like a real school.’ David didn’t even know the guy.”
