Northridge Soccer Team Facing Major Roadblock

Only one obstacle stands between the Cal State Northridge soccer team and its first NCAA Division I playoff berth.

Unfortunately for the Matadors, that obstacle is formidable UCLA, which Northridge will face today at 1 at UCLA in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship match. And the Matadors have never beaten the Bruins, losing five matches.

Add to this the probable absence of Matador forward Armando Valdivia, the MPSF Pacific Division player of the year who is recovering from a pulled hamstring suffered Oct. 31, and Northridge appears a decided underdog.

But the Matadors, who finished second in the Pacific Division, have flourished in that role.

Playing Friday without Valdivia, Northridge defeated Air Force, 1-0, in overtime in an MPSF semifinal on a goal by unlikely hero Yared Gebreyesus. It was the sophomore midfielder’s first goal of the season.

Besides, said Coach Marwan Ass’ad after watching UCLA defeat Stanford, 2-1, in the other semifinal: “The Bruins looked human. We will have to play loose and without fear.”

Northridge must also play in the Bruins’ end of the field this time. In a 1-0 loss to UCLA on Oct. 15, the Matadors went into a defensive shell and registered only seven shots, compared to 28 by UCLA.

“It’s hard to score on the Bruins,” Ass’ad said. “We’re the ones who have to elevate our offensive game. (In the previous game), we ended up playing defense 70% of the time. We can’t play defensively the whole time. That’s boring, man.”

Should Northridge beat UCLA, it will be awarded an automatic berth for the 32-team NCAA playoffs, its first since moving from Division II in 1990.