UCI’s Cano on Top of the World

Marine Cano, the UC Irvine women’s soccer coach, reacts as you might expect any college soccer coach to react as he evaluates the women’s World Cup play.

“I want to know if that No. 14 from Nigeria has any [college] eligibility left,” Cano said. “She’s the one with the orange hair and 21-inch vertical leap. Or maybe No. 19. We could use her too.”

Cano watched Sunday’s Nigeria-North Korea game at the Rose Bowl with a coach’s eye. But he can also step back and look at the big picture.

He played international soccer in England. He coached the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s and women’s teams from 1985-1993, winning an NCAA Division II women’s title in 1991. He is 63-29-11 in five seasons as UCI’s coach.

Cano also has first-hand knowledge of soccer’s past failures in this country, having played for Ft. Lauderdale in the doomed North American Soccer League. The sport, he said, is on firmer ground than ever, especially for the women. The World Cup, he said, will only make the sport stronger.

“This has been a long time coming,” Cano said. “I saw it happen with the men’s World Cup in 1994, and it will happen now. Young players will get to see how the game should be played by the best in the world. I always tell my European friends that the best soccer coaches in the world are in the United States. They think I’m crazy, but we have to have the best coaches. There is no other way for kids to learn the game.

“When I played in England, kids there would learn by watching the great players. There were local derbies, Liverpool and Everton. It would be like Irvine and Fullerton having teams. Everyone in Irvine would show up at the game.”

The difference in women’s soccer, Cano said, is that the United States is not a poor relation. In fact, the U.S. talent pool for the World Cup runneth over--11 of the 20 Mexican team players honed their game here.

Cano, a former goalie, knows the area’s wealth of ability well. He coached Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett on a Cal South state team in the 1980s. He also worked with Mary Harvey, who was the national team’s goalie when the U.S. won the world championship in 1991.

“How much are we at the forefront in women’s soccer?” Cano said. “Where’s England’s team? Where’s Scotland’s team? You don’t even hear people talking about the United States losing.

“What’s great is all these young girls who are in the stands shouting ‘USA! USA! USA!’ are learning the sport from someone else besides their mom or their dad or even their coach,” Cano said. “They see what it takes to play the game right. They all have their favorite players. OK, Mia Hamm is their favorite player, but they like someone else on the team. My daughter knows every player on the team.”

Cano, meanwhile, is studying the Nigerian roster.

“I’d take No. 14 in a second,” he said.

IN ESCROW

In a ceremony at the UCI athletic department last week, Chancellor Ralph Cicerone signed the student referendum, overwhelming approved by students last month. The $33 per quarter student fee hike will fully fund scholarships for all Anteater sports and bring back baseball. It also will add women’s water polo and one other women’s sport yet to be determined.

It now goes to the UC Board of Regents for approval. Cicerone was hoping it would make the July agenda, but the referendum will likely be reviewed in September.

Either way, he said, the regents will almost certainly approve it.

“I don’t think they will ignore something the students want,” Cicerone said.

Especially when it will raise, by conservative estimates, $1.6 million annually.

JAPAN BOUND

Former Cypress High standout Phil Seibel has been selected to play for the USA National baseball team against Japan. The five-game series will be played Jan. 23-29 in Tokyo. Seibel was 5-2 with five saves for Texas last season. He had 65 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings and was honorable mention All-Big 12.

SIGNINGS

Annie Sand, an opposite hitter on the state champion Golden West College women’s volleyball team, will play at Concordia. Cypress setter Ariana Hopkins will play at Bentley College, a Division II school in Waltham, Mass.

* Nick Purdom, captain of Santa Ana College’s state championship soccer team last season, has signed with Maryland. Purdom, a graduate of El Modena High, will join Orange High graduate Dan Califf on the Terrapins, who reached the Final Four last season.

* Jason Rausch, a wide receiver at Orange Coast, will play at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., next season. Rausch caught 12 passes, including two for touchdowns, last season.

* Fullback Paul Toepel, who also played at OCC last season, is headed to Massachusetts at Amherst in the fall.

HEADING NORTH

Jack Shinar, who was the sports information director at Orange Coast College for 13 years, has resigned and accepted a job with the Commission on Athletes office in Sacramento.

Shinar, 46, will work as the sports information director for the state community college office.

Staff writer Steve Kresal contributed to this story.