Chapman Soccer Coach Filling Some Big Shoes

It’s never easy taking over for a popular leader, but Chapman soccer Coach Eddie Carrillo’s situation might be doubly difficult.

Carrillo is replacing former coach Gregg Murphy, who coached the Panthers’ men’s and women’s teams.

Last year each team had its best season. The women were 13-5 and narrowly missed an NCAA playoff spot. The men were 17-4-1 and advanced to the NCAA Division III final four.

Murphy left during the summer to coach the Loyola Marymount women’s team.

Enter Carrillo.

“I’m replacing somebody that they felt really good about,” Carrillo said Wednesday. “Things are going to different for them, but I’ve been easing in. I’m not going crazy. I realize Gregg Murphy did a lot for them, and Eddie Carrillo is going to do a lot for them too.”

Carrillo understands he must prove himself to his players. A longtime high school coach and former Chapman player, he started the women’s soccer program at Rancho Santiago College in 1994. But because this is his first job at a four-year college, he expected some skepticism.

So far, however, it hasn’t been significant. “They have been pretty good about it,” Carrillo said, “and the quicker they believe in what we are doing the better off we’ll be. It’s change and change is hard.”

The women’s team has caught on more quickly. The Panthers won their first two games, including a 4-1 victory over Cal State Hayward Monday in which they scored four consecutive goals, including three in the first six minutes of overtime.

Cindy LeClair, Chapman’s all-time leading scorer, completed her eligibility but Kim Wyer, who scored 20 goals in 15 games before injuring her knee last season, is back.

The team is in excellent shape, Carrillo said, and has worn down each of its opponents.

The men opened their season Tuesday, losing, 2-0, to Biola, but Carrillo isn’t concerned. The Panthers outshot Biola by a 2-to-1 ratio, but Biola scored first, midway through the second half, and added a goal on a free kick in the waning minutes.

Chapman lost eight starters from last year’s team, including midfielders Erick and Gary Hurtate, forward Dustin Kemerer and goalkeeper Craig Bennett, and still is looking for someone to take advantage of scoring opportunities.

“If we had finished two of our chances,” Carrillo said, “we would have won, no doubt. And we wouldn’t have questions about anything today. But we lost, so there’s a little bit of insecurity.”

Nine of the players on the 20-man roster were on last year’s team, but only three, Jason Hospedales, Eddie Perez and Albert Pedraza, started, so Carrillo will be depending on them to help bring along the less experienced players. Pedraza, out because of a knee injury, is expected back in several weeks.