Mistri Dealing With Elimination

Cal State Fullerton Coach Al Mistri still was feeling a bit drained emotionally from Sunday’s marathon NCAA men’s soccer playoff game against Creighton.

“It’s tough when four months of work comes down to penalty kicks,” Mistri said, looking down on the playing field from his office in Titan Stadium.

Creighton advanced to the tournament quarterfinals against Fresno State this weekend because of its 4-2 advantage in the shootout after both teams were scoreless in regulation and four overtime sessions.

All that superb defense between two nationally ranked teams, and it becomes a matter of how fortunate you are in a series of one-on-one confrontations between kicker and goalkeeper.

It might as well be a coin flip.

But, after 150 minutes, it has to be settled some way.

“The shootout is all we have in soccer to settle it,” Mistri said. “Even the World Cup was won a few years ago by Brazil the same way, on penalty kicks.”

The most important thing, as far as Mistri is concerned, is that it shouldn’t take away any of the luster of what he regards as an excellent season.

It included a 2-1 victory over top-ranked UCLA in the first round of the playoffs and a 2-2 tie with No. 1 Virginia during the regular season. Fullerton also defeated defending national champion Wisconsin, 3-1.

The Titans finished 11-4-6 and reached the postseason tournament for the third time in the last four years. “It’s been a tremendous season against a very difficult schedule,” Mistri said.

The Titans were 4-2-3 against nationally ranked teams.

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Mistri says the strength of the opposition was a big reason the Titans had so many ties. Fullerton had four in a span of eight games before the one against Creighton.

“I think there’s more parity among the top programs now,” Mistri said. “And when the competition is this good, ties are an inevitable part of soccer. And it’s getting tougher all the time. We just have to keep working to get that much stronger.”

Mistri is confident that can happen, particularly after his program became fully funded a year ago with the maximum 9.9 scholarships allowed under NCAA rules.

Only three starters on this year’s team are seniors. Mistri will have to replace midfielders Eugene Brooks and Tom Helmer and defender Al Partida, but eight other starters will return.

The team’s top four scorers will be back. Forwards Sheldon Thomas and Charlie Lynch are juniors. Thomas led the Titans with 39 points and 17 goals, and Lynch had 20 points and eight goals. Sophomore Joe DiGiamarino was third with 17 points and another sophomore, Alessio Smith, was fourth with 10 points.

DiGiamarino has been invited to play this spring and summer with the under-20 national team, and should be able to further develop as one of the nation’s top midfielders.

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Goalkeeper Mike Forensich, who finished with a 1.074 goals-against average, also is a sophomore.

Mistri can’t help wondering if his team might have finished stronger if standout defender Demian Brown had been healthy all season.

“Demian played a lot for us in our first seven games before he was hurt again, and we were 5-1-1 at that point in the season,” Mistri said.

Mistri says the Titans might have been stronger offensively if a promising recruit, Marco Mesrobian of Glendale Hoover, had been on the team. Mesrobian failed to meet NCAA academic standards, and Fullerton’s appeal was rejected. “Mesrobian would have been an attacking midfielder who could have really helped us,” Mistri said.

Mistri believes he needs more depth next season. “We’ll be recruiting to improve that,” he said. “We definitely need to find someone else to come in and help us at forward. We need some more quickness there.”

But Mistri is confident Fullerton’s program now is established as one of the nation’s top 20.

“We’ve been in the playoffs three times in the last four years, and it could easily have been four times in four years,” he said. “We’re pleased with where we are, but we’re also committed to doing even better.”

Titan Notes

The wrestling team, which opens its dual-meet schedule tonight at home against Fresno State, has several newcomers. That group includes sophomore Joey Coughran, who transferred from Purdue. Coughran, in the 134-pound class, wrestled for Calvary Chapel High and placed third in his division at the state meet in 1993. Another newcomer is freshman Aaron Santana in the 167-pound class. He was a state champion last year for El Modena High. . . . The women’s basketball team should get a good test this weekend in a tournament at Air Force. The Titans play Wyoming Friday and Air Force Saturday.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Wrestling, against Fresno State at 7 tonight in Titan Gym. This match opens the Titans’ dual-meet season.

* Men’s basketball, at Loyola Marymount, Saturday at 7 p.m.