Ass’ad Finds Shoe on Other Foot; Wiesner Now Well-Heeled

When Brian Wiesner interviewed last year to be the first women’s soccer coach at Cal State Northridge, the selection committee member happiest to see him was Marwan Ass’ad, coach of the Matador men’s team.

After Wiesner landed the job, he shared an office with Ass’ad for nearly a year. They were friends committed to a common goal: building a proud soccer tradition at Northridge.

They also shared the challenge of doing so with low-budget, low-priority programs.

But if the pair were once members of the same low strata, their fortunes have diverged in recent months.

Because it is upgrading to the Big Sky Conference, Northridge is doubling football scholarships, boosting its funding level for men’s basketball and adding men’s tennis and women’s golf programs. The school also is increasing scholarship levels in its existing women’s programs to meet state-mandated gender-equity standards.

As a result, a few things had to give, the men’s soccer program among them.

Ass’ad’s salary was slashed in half, he lost roughly 25% of his scholarship budget, and he was directed to cut the number of games on the Matadors’ schedule.

“It’s difficult to reduce any sport and that’s not the direction we want to be going,” Northridge Athletic Director Paul Bubb said.

“Some sports are being asked to tighten up and do some things differently, but the alternative is to drop them entirely.”

As Ass’ad’s resources have shrunk, Wiesner’s have increased. Women’s soccer will award the equivalent of nine scholarships--about $73,800--next season, which is triple what it granted last season.

Ass’ad has the equivalent of three scholarships, or about $24,600.

“There’s no friction between Marwan and I because we didn’t make the decision,” Wiesner said. “Initially, I was uneasy at appearing to benefit from his demise, but he’s too good a coach and this area is too rich in talent for the men’s program to fold.”

Ass’ad is concentrating his recruiting efforts in the San Fernando Valley. He has signed Federico Arroyo, a striker from Van Nuys High, and Gabriel Ortega, a dominant midfielder from Birmingham. Mike Preis, Chatsworth’s all-time scoring leader, Cleveland star Luis Castro and Mission College standout Chris Swanson also are expected to attend Northridge.

That’s an outstanding freshman class given the circumstances, but that doesn’t make Ass’ad’s uphill climb any more enjoyable. There is no doubt his program’s stability has been compromised.

“We’ve had All-Americans here who got less than $1,500 a year [in scholarship funds]” said Ass’ad, who has had one losing season in 13 years at Northridge. “[The downsizing] is a bad break.”

To offset his loss of salary, Ass’ad has increased his off-season coaching load with youth club teams. He also has started a Northridge men’s soccer booster club in an attempt to bolster funding for his team.

Although he insists he is not bitter, Ass’ad’s eyes tell a different story. He has put his heart and soul into making Northridge first an NCAA Division II power and then a competitive Division I team. The program’s dismemberment stings.

Northridge players are hurting too. Many of them had other options besides Northridge but wanted to play for Ass’ad.

“We were just waiting and hoping for the best; it was all we could do,” said Trevor Schmidt, a freshman midfielder from Chatsworth.

“It’s something we shouldn’t have to deal with but we’ve just tried to block it out right now.”

The success of the Northridge men’s team next season depends heavily on incoming freshmen. The same was true last season and that class was not up to the challenge. An horrific start contributed to a 9-8-2 record and kept the team out of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation postseason tournament despite a late charge.

Nevertheless, the soccer team twice outdrew a Matador football game played on the same weekend.

While Ass’ad scrambles, Wiesner has more scholarship money than he knows what to do with. He already has signed six players, including a trio of junior college transfers.

“I think we’ll make an enormous jump in talent but I don’t know that our record will be better because our schedule is twice as hard,” said Wiesner, whose squad was 8-9-3 in its inaugural season as a Division I independent.

Wiesner’s quandary is how to disburse his funding. He anticipates that all 18 players on next season’s game roster will receive scholarship money. There might also be enough remaining to provide grants to fifth-year seniors whose eligibility has expired but who are finishing school.

“I do all my scholarship calculations in pencil,” Wiesner said, smiling. “We’ve been able to bargain a lot because few [teams] have the money we do. We’re in a position to land some real impact players.”

But with the arrival of those standouts, some less-talented players who Wiesner needed last season will be cut loose.

“It’s going to be really hard for some who were here last season to make it next season,” Wiesner said. “It’s not going to be easy but the players are aware of the situation and some may make their own decisions before I make mine.”

Unfortunately for Ass’ad, the decisions surrounding his program have already been made. He can only make the best of a bad situation.

“There’s no one to fight, man,” he said, hunched over his desk, gesturing with his hands. “Fight who? Who am I to [the administration]? I try not to think about the bad things. I’m committed heart and soul to the job here, but after the season I’ll think about the future, and if a great situation comes up somewhere else, I’m gone.”