NCAA SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS : Titans Will Try to Bring Home Some Respect

When you sign a letter of intent with Cal State Fullerton, you don’t just get a promise of financial aid. You get an inferiority complex, free of charge, for use whenever that Titan us-against-the-world mentality can help the cause.

This weekend, for instance. Fullerton (16-6) will face South Carolina (15-3-4) in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament semifinals at 1:30 p.m. (PDT) today at Davidson College. At stake is a berth in Sunday’s national championship game against the winner of today’s 11 a.m. semifinal between Virginia (20-3) and Princeton (13-4).

Think that’s enough incentive for the Titans?

Think again. In addition to battling the Gamecocks, the Titans will be fighting a perception, real or imagined, that East Coast soccer is superior to West Coast soccer, and that some Eastern schools look down their noses at their Western brethren.

“We’re not even respected on the West Coast--why should we be respected on the East Coast?” said Fullerton goalkeeper Mike Ammann, a key player in the Titans’ playoff run with two postseason shutouts.

“Everyone thinks Fullerton is a flash in the pan, that we got lucky and won three playoff games on the road, but our job is to prove them wrong. We want to bring respect to the school.”

They already have. Win consecutive playoff games at Fresno State, University of San Diego and University of San Francisco, and folks, even way over here on the East Coast, tend to notice.

“I have a great deal of respect for Cal State Fullerton,” South Carolina Coach Mark Berson said. “The West is a very tough region, (the Titans) had some good results in the regular season and some great results in the playoffs. They have a very balanced attack and a lot of experience.”

The Titans will be without a good chunk of that experience today, though. Sophomore midfielder Matt Bradbury, who has played every minute of every game and is the team’s second-leading scorer with eight goals and six assists, received his third yellow (warning) card of the playoffs against San Francisco and must sit out one game under NCAA rules.

Bradbury will be replaced by freshman Tom Helmer, who has started 17 of 22 games and is a solid offensive player but is not a polished as Bradbury on defense.

Still, Titan Coach Al Mistri is confident about his team’s chances.

“Of the four teams, we’re probably most suited to play against South Carolina,” Mistri said. “They’re a little more static than us--we move the ball around a little better. They obviously have the advantage being at home, but it’s difficult for me to believe any of these teams could have done what we did, go to Fresno, San Diego and San Francisco and win all three.”

Final Four Notes

South Carolina, which has reached the NCAA playoffs eight times in the last nine years, is led by junior forward Chris Faklaris, who has 20 goals and four assists, and senior fullback Helgi Bjorgvinsson, a Reykjavik, Iceland, native who has spearheaded a Gamecock defense that has yielded only 24 goals all season. South Carolina beat Furman (1-0), Clemson (3-2) and Air Force (6-0) to advance to the semifinals. . . . Virginia, which is led by junior midfielder Claudio Reyna (10 goals, 8 assists) and freshman forward Mike Slivinski (8 goals, 11 assists), is attempting to become the first Division I men’s soccer team to win three consecutive national championships. . . . Princeton Coach Bob Bradley was an assistant for Coach Bruce Arena’s Virginia team 13 years ago. . . . Of this year’s four semifinalists, only one, third-ranked Virginia, was ranked in the final top 20 poll. South Carolina was ranked 23rd, Princeton 25th, and Fullerton was unranked. . . . Prime Ticket will televise today’s semifinals live but will not air Sunday’s championship game in the Los Angeles market.