UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Choosing Right Women’s Soccer Coach Is Crucial

The last time UC Irvine convened a search committee to fill a position in the athletic department, it had a little trouble finding someone who wanted the job. After a couple of people withdrew their names as candidates, Dan Guerrero eventually was named athletic director.

Now Guerrero has established a group, headed by Associate Athletic Director Ed Carroll, to hire a director of soccer/head women’s coach, a position that will serve as full-time coach and special ambassador to the soccer community, coordinating public relations and fund-raising for the men’s and women’s teams.

“It’s the only way to manage the scarce resources we have these days,” said Al Mistri, who heads up the men’s and women’s programs at Cal State Fullerton. “I’m not sure where men’s soccer is headed, but women’s soccer is going to be the growth stock of the 21st Century. There’s no other sport that can allow so many participants at so low an overhead, generate interest and has the potential of getting people in to watch.”

Guerrero’s efforts to channel Irvine’s athletic resources toward areas where they have the best chance to succeed is not going unnoticed. The list of those who have expressed interest in the new position includes Marine Cano, who holds a similar position at Cal State Dominguez Hills; former Olympian Mike Fox, a player with the Salsa, and Sigi Schmid, UCLA men’s coach and national team assistant.

“Dan played baseball at UCLA when I played soccer there and I talked to him in regards to the job, but that’s as far as it went,” Schmid said. “I’m the coach at UCLA and my expectation is that I’m going to be at UCLA in ’94.”

The Bruins have made 11 consecutive NCAA playoff appearances and won the national title under Schmid in 1985 and 1990. But gender-equity issues have put an emphasis on women’s soccer and even at UCLA, the men’s programs are feeling the squeeze.

“From the standpoint of being a male coach in what’s becoming a women’s sport, I guess that’s not the best position to be in,” Schmid admitted. “And when you’re at a school that doesn’t have football and you have a fall-sport program with an athletic director who is willing to commit interest in it, that’s a very big positive for soccer.”

Fox, a former All-American at Fullerton who lives in Brea, said he has applied for the job. He is 32 and has been slowed by a knee injury, so his playing days are numbered.

“I want to stay involved with soccer and I want to coach, and this is an ideal situation,” said Fox, who also has applied for coaching positions at Nebraska, Alabama and Creighton. “You have to do the fund-raising and the camps and meet the people who will come watch you play, but at the same time you have to have the soccer knowledge to put a good team together and make them competitive.”

Fox thinks his experience in the Olympics and on top-level professional teams such as the Cosmos gives him instant credibility as a coach and says he would be excited about coaching the Irvine women’s team.

“I coach girls’ youth teams in Brea and really, you want to accomplish the same things with men or women,” he said. “The men play at a little bit faster pace, but as far as skill work and tactics, it’s pretty similar.”

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Are we toast yet? Women’s basketball Coach Colleen Matsuhara believes a tough nonconference schedule is the only way to get a team ready for the rigors of Big West play.

The Anteaters, who had six freshmen on their 12-player roster last season, managed only one nonconference victory and suffered four nonconference losses by an average of 18 points. That set them up for a 1-17 Big West record.

How did those results affect Matsuhara’s scheduling this season?

“Our schedule has actually gotten harder, which means I guess I didn’t learn my lesson from last year,” she said.

Irvine (1-2) opened with a 73-67 loss to Arizona, beat Michigan, 65-40, in the first round of the UCI Marriott Classic tournament Friday and lost to Sacramento State in Saturday’s championship game, 96-89.

“We’re going to Texas (Dec. 21) to play Texas A&M;, which is a favorite to win the Southwest Conference and we host Colorado (Dec. 30), which made it all the way to the final eight last year,” Matsuhara said. “I’m still a firm believer in baptism by fire, especially with a young team.”

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Heart transplant: Center midfielder Lori Muzzonigro, whose aggressive play earned the respect of opponents, praise from her coach and a few yellow cards, is beginning her second year as coach of the Edison High girls’ junior varsity team.

Not surprisingly, she finds standing on the sideline at game time most uncomfortable.

“Going from playing to coaching is quite a transition,” Muzzonigro said. “I think I’m a pretty compassionate person and have an understanding of different skill levels, but it’s very, very difficult to be a coach.

“When you want something so much, it’s frustrating that you’re not able to somehow take that intensity you have when you play and put it into every girl on the team.”