CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE SOCCER PREVIEW : Matadors Like Their Options

Ross Linhart hasn’t scored a goal in two seasons playing for Cal State Northridge, yet no person is more qualified to lend an opinion about the Matador soccer team’s offensive prowess.

Linhart, the club’s top defender, faces the very best Northridge has to offer during each and every practice--and he likes what he sees.

“I’ve marked forwards from all over the country,” Linhart said, “and we have some of the best.”

Linhart names Mathew Davis, Keith West, Keith Rosenberg and Nelson Townes. Which of them, he is asked, might be Northridge’s new go-to guy, replacing All-American Armando Valdivia, who has exhausted his eligibility?

There is a notable pause. “Since there are no superstars, there’s going to be a few of those guys,” Linhart said.

Most likely, it will take more than one player to replace Valdivia’s productivity. Last season he led the Matadors with 17 goals and 20 assists.

Northridge opens the post-Valdivia era tonight at 7 with a nonconference match against Cal State Dominguez Hills at North Campus Stadium.

And who might the Matadors look for in a close game?

Marwan Ass’ad said it might be anyone. And, for now at least, he prefers it that way.

“We don’t design plays for people,” said Ass’ad, who has guided Northridge to 11 consecutive winning seasons. “We play soccer. We don’t want to get (the ball) to just one or two guys. Who’s open, he gets it.”

Davis, who had 10 goals and two assists last season, and West, who scored eight goals with two assists, are the top returning scorers.

Rosenberg, who Linhart said, “has wings on his feet,” was Northridge’s most heavily recruited player. The junior from Irvine Valley College might miss tonight’s opener while his junior college transcripts are being processed, but he is expected to join the lineup by Monday, when the Matadors play host to Gonzaga at 6 p.m.

Along with Linhart, Davis and West, goalie Mark Macdonald and midfielders Mustapha Sesay and Iain Doleman are returning starters.

The Matadors last season finished 12-9 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Northridge knocked off Air Force in the first round of the conference’s postseason tournament before losing to UCLA in the final.

Air Force was selected for an at-large berth in the NCAA playoffs and advanced to the Division I quarterfinals. Cal State Fullerton, another MPSF team that Northridge defeated, went to the Final Four.

The Matadors, meanwhile, were denied a playoff invitation.

Defeats to unheralded San Diego State and San Jose State, plus losses to Cal Lutheran and UC San Diego, a pair of NCAA Division III teams, apparently thwarted Northridge’s chances.

“They weren’t good teams, nobody gave them any respect, and we lost to them,” West said.

Bitten by injuries throughout last season, Ass’ad has beefed up Northridge’s roster to a point where he says the Matadors could withstand injuries to two forwards, two defenders and three midfielders.

Foremost among newcomers are Rosenberg, Townes, forward Dominic Zapata, defenders Garrett Torres and Brandt Marott and midfielder Anthony Carillo.

“This year, our second 11 is just as good as our front 11,” Linhart said. “Everyone is strong and we’re all pushing each other to get better.”