UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Muzzonigro’s Game Face Is a Fierce One

Lori Muzzonigro has a nice smile and twinkle in her eye, but you don’t want to see her game face.

Once on the soccer field, her dark side takes over.

“I’m very intense and aggressive, and physical,” she said, “but off the field, I’m pretty relaxed, actually a very calm individual.

“Girls on the team who get to know me off the field say, ‘Gee, you’re really nice.’ Like it was big surprise. And friends who come to see me play for the first time are saying, ‘Who is that out there?’ ”

It’s the sort of personality disorder that Coach Ray Smith wishes was contagious.

He wouldn’t even ask Muzzonigro to tone it down a notch during Saturday’s loss to fourth-ranked Santa Clara when she picked up two yellow cards and a mandatory one-game suspension. The Anteaters (8-3) were without their captain and inspirational leader Monday, when they defeated San Francisco State, 2-1.

“She was marking Santa Clara’s best player, Jennifer Lalor, who was a freshman All-American last year and Lori was very physical with her and just shut her down,” Smith said. “She did a great job on her. The referees thought she was a little too physical, but she didn’t do anything wrong in my view. There was nothing dirty, it was just good physical play, like we try to teach them.

“We certainly don’t like to play a game without her, but on the positive side, Lori played the best game of her career against the fourth-ranked team in the country and completely shut down one of the best players in the nation.

“Intensity is what makes Lori successful and it rubs off on her teammates and that’s her role on our team.”

Muzzonigro, the center midfielder, plays a lot of roles. She became the first player in UCI history to score goals in four consecutive games--a streak that ended last week--but Smith considers any offense she provides a “bonus.”

And those bonus points keep adding up. Muzzonigro, a junior, already is tied for third on the Anteaters’ career goals list with 12 and is fourth in career points (31).

“I never expected Lori to score much when I recruited her,” Smith said. “I’ve always concentrated on her defensive skills. We put her on the opponent’s strongest playmaker and try to neutralize her with Lori’s defensive ability.

“But she’s been putting the ball in the net, too, and it seems like she’s doing it when we most need it, when other people have been coming up short.”

If you’re interested in her secret for staying power, just ask the Edison High girls’ junior varsity team. Muzzonigro will begin her second season as their coach this winter.

“Every run they did last year, I ran it, too,” she said. “And I was either leading or pushing the girl in back. I think it’s important to show them, ‘Yeah, I know this hurts, but it helps, too, so hang in there.’ ”

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Slip of the rung? Smith, in his fourth season at Irvine, takes pride in the program’s steady progress. The Anteaters were 6-12-2 in 1990, 12-7-1 in ’91 and slipped to 9-8-2 last year, playing increasingly tougher schedules.

“We’ve been going up the ladder,” he said. “The first year, we had trouble with NAIA teams. The second year, we were beating NAIA and Division III teams pretty easily. Last year, we were beating the Division II teams and this season, we’re starting to beat Division I teams.

“The next obstacle are the teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation.”

Saturday, the Anteaters lost to No. 4 Santa Clara, 5-0. Smith’s teams are 0-3 against Santa Clara and have been outscored, 16-0.

“We played better than we have in the past, though,” Smith said. “We actually had quite a few scoring chances, unlike the past games. Last year, we hardly ever got past midfield. Saturday, we were in their goal mouth a lot, just couldn’t put it away.

“Still, they are a far superior team and we have a way to go to reach that level.”

Anteater Notes

The women’s volleyball team is 9-6 and off to its best start in conference with a 5-3 mark in Big West play. The Anteaters, ranked 10th in the Northwest Region, beat seventh-ranked San Jose State Sunday. . . . Athletic Director Dan Guerrero has been named to the Executive Committee of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. The NCAS, established through Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, advances the discussion of ethical issues in college athletics. . . . The former Irvine No. 1 doubles team of Mike Briggs and Trevor Kronemann will be wild-card entries into this week’s U.S. Tennis Pro Satellite Tour event at the Anaheim Tennis Center. . . . The Clippers open training camp Friday at the Bren Center, but none of their practices will be open to the public.