Unhappy With Coach, Seven UC Irvine Soccer Players Quit

Seven players from the UC Irvine men’s soccer program are quitting the team and will ask for a release from their scholarships.

Members of the group said they are unhappy with fourth-year Coach George Kuntz. Neither Kuntz nor Athletic Director Dan Guerrero could be reached for comment Friday.

All seven players receive at least partial scholarships and must be released by Irvine officials before they can play elsewhere.

Freshman goalie Kevin Mehrens, sophomore midfielder Walter Camargo and junior midfielder Tyler Theslof--three of the team’s top players--are among the players leaving. Freshman Norman Giroux is also in the group.

Mehrens, a first-team All-Orange County selection as a senior at San Clemente High School, was a recruiting coup for Kuntz last year. Camargo led the Anteaters in scoring with five goals and five assists as a freshman and scored four goals last season.

The Anteaters are losing 18 players, counting the 11 seniors, from their 25-man roster.

Among the players’ complaints is that Kuntz had promised playing time to too many players, which left the team fragmented.

Besides coaching at Irvine, Kuntz is the director of coaching for the California Youth Soccer Assn. South and is involved with the Olympic Development Program. He previously coached the Pepperdine women’s team and the Cal Lutheran men’s team.

Irvine lost six of it last seven games and finished 8-12. The Anteaters were 2-7 in the Mountain Pacific Conference. Kuntz is 24-44-11 at Irvine.