Injury Ends Hulgreen’s Titan Career

Cal State Fullerton soccer player Kris Hulgreen will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a fractured cheekbone, Coach Al Mistri said Tuesday.

“It’s a career-ending injury for him since he’s a senior,” Mistri said. “He’s had a fine career for us, and we’ll miss him.”

Hulgreen, from Mater Dei, was injured in Fullerton’s game against UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 15. He had one goal and three assists in 14 games this season.

The Titans (11-4-1, 5-0-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) have three regular-season games remaining, and host UCLA in a nonconference game Thursday.

BASEBALL

UC Irvine received its first commitment from an Orange County player Tuesday when Fountain Valley pitcher Michael Koehler announced he would attend the school, Baron assistant coach Chris Sorce said.

The 6-foot-7 right-hander was also pursued by Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, UC San Diego, Wake Forest and St. Mary’s.

The Anteaters are reviving baseball in the spring of 2002 after a 10-year hiatus.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The UC Irvine women’s team appears to be the team to beat once again at Saturday’s Big West Conference meet hosted by UC Santa Barbara at the Glen Annie Golf Club in Goleta.

Irvine’s women, who have finished first in 11 of their previous 17 Big West meets, are defending conference champions. The men finished second last year.

Senior Kareen Nilsson, seventh in the women’s conference race last year, has had a strong season again for Irvine, recording second-, fourth- and 10th-place finishes at major invitationals. Also back is sophomore Courtney Baird, who was second at the conference meet in 1999.

WATER POLO

Coach Julie Swail and UC Irvine’s first women’s water polo team scrimmage Friday against Orange Coast College at 3 p.m. and Loyola Marymount at 5 p.m. at the Anteater pool. Irvine begins NCAA play this spring.

Swail was captain of the U.S. women’s team that won a silver medal at the Sydney games.

The second-ranked Irvine men’s team has a chance for revenge this weekend.

The Anteaters (13-4) host Stanford at noon Saturday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest. The Cardinal beat Irvine last week, 6-5, at the Northern California Tournament in Stockton.

FOOTBALL

Injury-riddled Chapman, coming off a bye week, will host La Verne (2-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Chapman (1-5) has given up 40 points per game and its offense, a strength last season, has averaged only 21 points.

Chapman has turned over the ball 23 times. Its defense, which has lost eight starters to injury, has caused only eight turnovers.

“I don’t want to make excuses,” Chapman Coach Ken Visser said. “I’m just having a hard time figuring this out. We’re not very deep and we just have not been able to find the chemistry. It has not clicked.”

Visser said he has been pleased with the effort of running back Phil Cruz, who has fought off the effects of a twisted knee and a deep bone bruise on his heel to rush for 404 yards.

La Verne is coming off a 48-17 victory over Cal Lutheran, which beat Chapman, 59-27, three weeks ago.