Goalkeeper Bennett Has More of a Voice in Chapman Soccer

Chapman goalkeeper Craig Bennett has never been shy about speaking his mind on the soccer field, but he wasn’t always getting his point across.

A goalkeeper should be a strong communicator; Bennett and Chapman Coach Greg Murphy thought he was coming up short.

“I’ve always been more of a talker,” Bennett said. “It’s the difference between being a pitcher and a thrower in baseball.

“It wasn’t what I said, but how I said it.”

So Bennett, a first-team NCAA Division III All-West Region pick last year, is striving to make his senior season different.

As the equipment manager for the Splash indoor soccer team, Bennett is exposed to players who make a living in the sport. The Splash had its share of communication problems this summer, but Bennett said he has learned lessons about giving constructive advice to teammates.

Murphy says he already sees a change in Bennett.

“I think when he was younger his tone was--what’s the word I’m looking for?--a bit condescending. He was a bit too aggressive and I think some guys tuned him out.

“He’s learned from the good and bad examples on the pro level what works.”

So far so good, this season. Bennett and the Panthers haven’t given up a goal in three games, victories over Concordia (3-0), Whittier (4-0) and Biola (3-0). Only Biola, in a game Monday, presented much of a challenge to the Chapman defense, led by sweeper Albert Pedroza, Sean Kaly and Joe Hernandez.

Bennett was tested but made several nice saves. “That gets my adrenaline going,” Bennett said. “It keeps me in the game. Sometimes it’s tough standing there for 45 minutes with nothing happening.”

There’s bound to be action tonight when the Panthers face their first major test of the season against Colorado College, a perennial Division III standout.

The game starts at 7:30 p.m. at Chapman’s stadium.

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Home opener: The Chapman football team plays Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Panthers’ first home game of the season. Chapman is still smarting from a frustrating, season-opening loss to La Verne last Saturday.

Chapman scored on three of its first four possessions to take a 21-0 lead but then started giving it away. The Panthers lost three fumbles and had two passes intercepted, and La Verne pulled out a 35-34 victory.

“It was one of the most frustrating losses of my coaching career,” Chapman Coach Ken Visser said. “That one definitely goes in my top five.”

The Panthers showed they could move the ball, gaining more than 400 yards in total offense.

“We’ve got to come back and show some poise,” Visser said. “That’s all you can do.”

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Chapman’s water polo team, which was ranked nationally for a time last year, could have a rough time this season. Rod Hormell, Chapman’s coach the last two seasons, moved away from the area during the summer and only eight players from last year’s squad decided to remain with the team.

New Coach Marc Stamer, hired in August, didn’t have a chance to recruit any players, so the Panthers are making the best of what they have.

“The thing that’s going to hurt us the most is the numbers,” Stamer said. “I’m the one that has to deal with that, and if the guys just worry about playing we’ll be OK.”

Chapman opens its season Saturday and Sunday at the Hillman Tournament at Whittier College.

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Southern California College cross-country runner Nikee Pool started her junior season strongly last Saturday, finishing third at the Whittier Invitational.

Pool, a junior, finished behind two club runners, running 23 minutes 30 seconds on the six-kilometer course at Clark Park in Buena Park.

Pool has struggled because of a groin injury the last two years but is now healthy, SCC Coach Bryan Wilkins said.

She was a redshirt last season after qualifying for the NAIA national championships in her first two seasons. She didn’t place in the top 100 either time.

“This year we are shooting for top 30,” Wilkins said. “We are going for a big step up, but I think she’s ready.”