Players From Region Give Cal a Foothold
In 1996, the prominent under-19 club soccer team on the West Coast was the Valley United Blast. The team finished second in the nation that year before disbanding after a majority of the players went to college.
Five of the players--Derrick Dyslin, John Macdonald, Kendall Simmonds, Gene Lee and Chris Sawicki--chose to play for California.
They have helped bring success to a program that struggled before their arrival.
“We’ve been really happy with all of them,” Coach Marc Mallon of Cal said. “They have helped put Cal soccer on the map.
“We knew exactly what we were getting. I spent most of my time recruiting in Southern California. I thought that’s where the best players were.”
Cal has been in and out of the national rankings in the last four years, reaching as high as No. 2. They have a 39-23-7 record during that time, a dramatic improvement over the 19-32-5 mark the Golden Bears compiled in Mallon’s first three years.
The Golden Bears (8-2-2) fell out of the rankings this week after losing to Denver. They host No. 1-ranked Santa Clara on Sunday.
Dyslin, a sweeper who was The Times’ regional player of the year in 1996 at La Canada High, transferred to Cal in 1997 after one year at Richmond. He has missed the last four games because of a pinched nerve in his back, but is expected to play today against Cal State Sacramento. He was an All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection last season.
“Derrick is athletically capable of playing at the next level,” Mallon said. “He has a very strong will.”
Simmonds, The Times’ regional player of the year in 1997 at Royal, has one goal and leads Cal with six assists and 22 shots.
“Kendall has tremendous speed and creates a lot of opportunities for us,” Mallon said.
Simmonds scored the winning goal in the Golden Bears’ season-opening 1-0 victory in double overtime over San Francisco. The junior has 11 goals and 14 assists in his career at Cal.
Macdonald, who attended Alemany, scored his third goal of the season in a 2-1 victory over Air Force last week. He is adjusting to his new role as a midfielder after playing forward last year, and his offense has been slowed because of a sprained ankle.
“He’s a special player,” Mallon said. “He’s crafty, swift and a creative playmaker in the midfield. He has been really banged up lately. He’s not 100%.”
The senior was selected All-MPSF and All-Far West Region last year and has 15 goals and 10 assists at Cal.
Sawicki is the team’s central defender. He scored the second goal of his career on a header in a 3-0 victory over Harvard. The senior was a member of La Canada teams that compiled a 50-0 record during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
Lee, who attended Chaminade, has yet to play this season, still recovering from shoulder surgery. Mallon said Lee will be ready to play next week.
*
Nate Wright (Saugus) is wasting no time making his senior year a successful one at Biola. The forward is second with 18 points and six goals, and ranks first with six assists for the Eagles (9-5-1).
Wright, who also plays center field for Biola’s baseball team, had multiple-goal games in victories over The Master’s, 3-0, and Occidental, 6-0. He scored the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Cal Baptist.
*
Redshirt freshman Scott Bowman (Chaminade) had an assist in UC Irvine’s 2-1 overtime loss to St. Mary’s last week. Bowman has a goal and three assists for the Anteaters (5-7-1). The midfielder’s goal came in a 2-0 victory over Fairfield.
*
Brianna Preis (Chatsworth) scored for UC Santa Barbara (6-6-1) in a 4-3 victory over UC Irvine last week. Preis has two goals, one in a 2-1 victory over Utah State.
