Martinez Following Father’s Example

Cal State Fullerton soccer player Antonio Martinez talks with pride about his father.

“He was a really good soccer player in Mexico when he was younger,” Martinez said. “He played for Yahualica against teams from other towns, and he was pretty famous there. He still holds all their records.”

It’s no surprise that Martinez followed in his father’s footsteps as a soccer player.

“My father used to take me to all his games, and I sort of became the team’s mascot,” Martinez said. “He’s really happy that I’m doing well in soccer. He taught me a lot about how to play. He comes to all our games now, and gets really excited.”

Antonio Martinez Sr. has good reason.

His son has scored four game-winning goals this season for the nationally-ranked Titans, who are in the running for their fifth NCAA playoff berth in the last seven years.

Martinez transferred to Fullerton in 1998 after two years at El Camino College in Torrance. He earned a starting spot last season at left midfield, scoring one goal in 17 shots. This season he has become more of a threat on offense, and has five goals.

“I was new to the program last year, and I was trying to fit in,” Martinez said. “I came to school only three weeks before the start of the season, and it was a lot different than it was at El Camino. It’s more physical soccer here and you have to be a lot tougher.”

Martinez said he also concentrated more on his defense than his offense last season.

“The left midfielder has to be able to attack and defend at the same time, but last year I wasn’t as worried about my scoring because I wanted to make certain I was playing good defense.”

Martinez said he feels he is at his best in close games.

“I think I’m better with pressure on me than without it,” he said. “It pumps me up, and I feel I have to take charge. But I’ve been really lucky this season getting goals in those situations too.”

At Carson High School, Martinez scored the winning goal that put his school in the city playoffs for the first time.

Martinez’s family, which includes a younger brother and sister, moved to Carson from Mexico when Antonio was 10. His father continued to teach at an elementary school in Mexico, spending part of his time with the family in Carson, but now lives in Carson all year.

“My father was close to getting his pension there, so he didn’t want to give that up,” Martinez said.

Martinez said he would like to play professional soccer, but he also wants to follow in his father’s footsteps as an elementary school teacher. He is scheduled to graduate from Fullerton in June.

IRVINE PITCH PROJECT

Pacific women’s soccer players didn’t see rock piles and twigs, but they had to feel bewitched Friday.

UC Irvine stunned the Tigers, rallying from a 1-0 deficit for a 2-1 victory to snap a four-game losing streak. It was a little message to not take the Anteaters lightly even in their current situation.

Injuries and inexperience could leave Irvine with its first losing record in six seasons under Coach Marine Cano. Yet, as Pacific learned, this is a team to reckon with.

The Anteaters (6-7-2, 3-2-1 in the Big West) played without defenders Jennifer Griffith and Tara Blankenberg and midfielder Ariana Downs. Even assistant coach Kristen Borland has a sprained right knee, a souvenir from when she was forced to practice because there weren’t enough healthy bodies.

Irvine, as has usually been the case this season, played eight freshmen Friday.

Yet, there was no collapse. Brittny Zimmerman, who missed 10 days with a concussion, tied the score, then Janelle Doyle, another freshman, scored the game-winner.

“That game gives you a really good feeling,” senior captain Katie Sheppard said. “To see everything we’ve been doing in practice work in the game was great. Things are not so bad.”

Cano made sure of that by holstering his usual aggressive game plan in favor of a more conservative approach. The Anteaters rarely ventured from their own end in the first half and bottled up Pacific’s strikers.

“That was soccer Italian-style,” Cano said. “It wasn’t beautiful, but it worked.”

BOOST FOR WRESTLING

A year ago, Cal State Fullerton wrestling Coach Ardeshir Asgari said he planned to share at least some of the wealth from the $3.3 million judgment from his suit against the Los Angeles Police Department with his Titan wrestling program.

Asgari recently cleared what appears to be the last hurdle to finally getting his money when the state Supreme Court rejected review of an appeal by the City of Los Angeles over the amount of the judgment.

Asgari was acquitted after being charged on suspicion of selling a pound of heroin to a police informant in front of undercover narcotics detectives 12 years ago. Because of the arrest and trial, Asgari spent seven months in jail and was prevented from trying out for the 1988 Olympic wrestling team. Asgari said he was set up, and he sued for wrongful arrest.

“It probably will be about six months before I get the money, but I hope it will be before July 1,” Asgari said. “I would have to make the donation by then for it to be in time to help for the following season. I can’t do anything for this season.”

Asgari said he plans to contribute around $50,000 each year to the athletic program, with the money designated for wrestling, as long as he is head coach. Asgari said the money would fund an increase of 6.6 scholarships to the maximum 9.9 allowed by the NCAA.

Such a contribution by a coach is allowed by the NCAA, as long as the donation goes directly to the athletic department.

Asgari has divided the 3.3 scholarships the program receives now among several wrestlers. “With more scholarships, we will be able to help more wrestlers,” he said. “About a third of the team doesn’t get anything now.”

Asgari said he expects to receive around $3.8 million, including interest, because of the delay caused by the appeal.

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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.