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College Water Polo
CSWC’s Hibbard scores nine goals as Jaguars sink Miramar 17-8

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 18, 2006 -- Former Bonita Vista standout Andrew Hibbard scored nine goals and Nathaniel Allison scored three goals to lead Southwestern College to a 17-8 Pacific Coast Conference victory against Miramar College in men’s water polo action Wednesday.

With the win, the Jaguars improved to 2-1 in conference play, 3-6 overall.

“We came out and played physical. We got into our passing lanes and took a lot of shots,” said Southwestern head coach Matt Ustaszewski, whose team will visit Palomar College on Oct. 25 to conclude PCC regular season play.

The PCC championship tournament, scheduled Nov. 3-4 at Miramar College, will be seeded based on regular season standings.

Palomar and Grossmont are expected to vie for the top two seeds, with the Jaguars a top candidate to secure the No. 3 seed in the five-team tourney.

Southwestern led 4-0 after the opening quarter against Miramar and built an 8-0 lead before the visitors finally pushed a shot past Jaguars goalie Austin Legg (nine saves). SWC led 8-2 at halftime.

The Jaguars continued their offensive onslaught in the second half, taking a 15-3 lead into the final quarter. James Hiney (Eastlake) and Matt Chism (Hilltop) each finished with two goals while Nick Kolata (Hilltop) scored one goal for Southwestern.

“Austin made some key blocks to fuel our counter-attack,” Ustaszewski said.

Hibbard has 84 goals this season.

Southwestern Jaguars are making waves

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 11, 2006 -- Many of those gathered Wednesday at the Southwestern College pool had difficulty deciding exactly which men’s water polo team to root for: the Southwestern Jaguars or the Grossmont Griffins.

The new-look Jaguars were sporting several high-profile former Metro Conference standouts. The new-look Griffins were sporting two of the same.

“We’ve got guys from Eastlake, Bonita Vista and Hilltop high schools primarily,” said Matt Ustaszewski, who has taken over head coaching duties of the team after serving two years as an assistant coach. “This is the first year of recruiting I’ve done. I’m looking to spread the word. It helps that I get to see players from Eastlake and Bonita Vista because those teams also practice here. It’s tough to recruit out of the area.”

Given the influx of talent, the game was competitive — especially in the early going. Former Bonita Vista standout Andrew Hibbard, now playing at SWC, tied the score at 2-all on a penalty shot. Grossmont led just 3-2 at the end of the first quarter and, despite the Griffins’ 8-2 halftime lead, one had the impression that the Jaguars could mount a comeback at any juncture.
Grossmont led 12-3 entering the final quarter, eventually settling for a 16-6 victory.

“It’s tough playing a team like Grossmont that is one of the best teams in the conference every year but we played ’em tough,” said Ustaszewski, a 2003 graduate of UCSD. “We got worn down as the game went on. We got tired.”

Despite the loss, Southwestern is looking to secure the third-seeded position for the upcoming Pacific Coast Conference championship tournament. The Jaguars (1-1 in conference play, 2-6 overall) can accomplish that with a victory against visiting Miramar on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Southwestern opened PCC play with a 15-5 victory against San Diego Mesa on Sept. 27. The Jaguars also defeated the Olympians, 18-4, in tournament play.

The PCC champion receives an automatic bid in the Southern California playoffs.

“Our biggest goal this year was to be competitive in every game and not to worry about wins and losses,” Ustaszewski said. “Our first game of the season was against Orange Coast College, which is now ranked fourth in the state. We lost by five goals. It set the tone from the beginning that we can play with these teams. We’re strong at the beginning of games but need to play a full game.

“If we beat Miramar, it looks like we’ll be the third seed in the PCC tournament. We have a shot at being in the semifinals and if we upset someone, we could play for first and second place.”

Hibbard led SWC with four goals against Grossmont while Matt Chism (Hilltop) and James Hiney (Eastlake) each scored one goal. Chism, Hibbard and goalie Austin Legg (Eastlake) are the team’s impact newcomers. Hiney is playing his second season for the Jags.

Ustaszewski labeled Hibbard, who ranks among the top five scorers in the state, and Hiney as the team’s field generals. “Those are our two captains,” Ustaszewski said. “Our third captain is Austin Legg. He’s become another leader for us. He’s our leader on defense.”

Much of the cheers directed at the Griffins were for former Otay Ranch standout and South Bay League Player of the Year Danny Inzunza and Hilltop goalie Mitch Seeley.

Grossmont coach Brian Harvey said both former Metro standouts are fitting in nicely with the Griffins’ allotment of East County and out-of-area standouts. Grossmont (3-0 in PCC play, 12-13 overall) is in a retooling season, as Harvey put it, with no returning starters.

Seeley, in particular, would be seeing more playing time, Harvey said, if he were not playing behind starter Daniel Ramirez. The former Helix standout entered Wednesday’s game ranked second in the state with 194 saves.

“Both are highly teachable,” Harvey said. “Danny has a great outside shot. It’s just unfortunate that Mitch has a teammate who is one of the best goalies in the state.”

Seeley, who had three saves in one quarter of duty, has rapidly progressed in skill level after just learning the game as a junior in high school. “It’s a lot tougher in college,” the former Lancer goalie said. “The guys shoot a lot harder. It’s basically a size thing. If you’re not big, you’ve got to get bigger.”

Grossmont has a showdown game against Palomar on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Grossmont High School to determine the top seed for the PCC playoffs.

The Griffins opened PCC play with a 19-1 victory against Miramar and a 19-5 win against Mesa.

Notepad
Grossmont defeated Southwestern, 17-7, in the preliminary women’s game. Ashley Zamora led the Jaguars with four goals while Breanna McMillan contributed one goal and two assists and Amanda Montijo had three steals. Southwestern Rebecca Volper had eight saves. The Jaguars are 3-11 on the season.

College Football

It’s going to be a Long season for Aztecs

By Ryan Rudnansky
Sports Intern

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 20, 2006 -- With the lowly San Diego State University football team standing at 0-5 so far this season, don’t worry SDSU fans.

There is some good news.

The Aztecs have given up 31 fewer points through five games than last season.

Unfortunately for SDSU, the good news ends there.

After giving up 195 points through the first five games last season, the Aztecs’ defense may be improving, but it is still horrendous.

New head coach Chuck Long, former offensive coordinator for Oklahoma, was hired at the beginning of the season as a breath of fresh air from Tom Craft’s insistence on boring the opponent to death with crafty screen passes that never seemed to work.
But what the Aztecs really needed was a defensive-minded coach.

Maybe someone like, say, Bill Belichick or Bill Cowher.

Forget that SDSU continually sends defensive players to the NFL.

Yes, I know former Aztec linebacker Kirk Morrison is a starter on the Oakland Raiders now (big whoop). But individuals don’t single-handedly shut down an offense.

No, not even you, Kirk.

The entire defense’s chemistry is arguably the most important part of shutting down an opponent.
And SDSU’s defense reminds me of wet gum.

If there is enough pressure, it could be cohesive.

But probably not.

Despite pressure from the local community, the Aztecs’ defense hasn’t stuck together for a long time.
I am not attacking Long, by any means.

But the Aztecs simply do not have Oklahoma’s offensive talent to outscore opponents in shootouts.
There is no Marshall Faulk for SDSU anymore.

SDSU needs to get it done on defense.

The Aztecs are second to last in total defense in the Mountain West Conference, giving up more than 362 yards per game.
And even worse, they can’t hold opponents to field goals.

SDSU has allowed 19 touchdowns this season, good for second most in the MWC.

The players say they cannot come up with stops on big plays. But the Aztecs can’t come up with stops, period.

Long, however, remains confident that SDSU will turn things around this season, but it would have to take a drastic defensive turnaround to even compete at this point.

To be fair, it’s Long’s first season at Montezuma Mesa, and it generally takes a while for a defense to gel. But when the Aztecs allow an impressive 14 points to No. 21 Wisconsin early in the season and then give up 47 points to BYU in their fifth game, it’s hard to say the defense is improving.

SDSU, I wish you well, but it’s going to be a rough final stretch.

College Soccer (Men)

SDSU kickers have talent to return to NCAA tourney

By Ryan Rudnansky
Sports Intern

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26, 2006 -- Last year, the San Diego State men’s soccer team played its first season in the Pac-10.
And despite hailing from the lowly Mountain West Conference, SDSU shocked everyone, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament.

But nobody said playing in the Pac-10 was easy.

This season, going into Friday’s game against No. 6 Cal at the SDSU Sports Deck, it has been more of a struggle for SDSU.
The Aztecs, who finished 9-3-7 last season, are 7-5-3 this year.

But why?

SDSU is just as deep as last year, maybe even deeper with a recruiting class ranked 17th in the nation coming into the season that included Eastlake High graduate Daniel Ortega.

Freshman center back Nick Cardenas has been a gift to the Aztecs.He has dominated the game from day one.
And the Aztecs have played extremely well against the Pac-10, going 3-2-2.

However, for some reason, when faced with lesser opponents, SDSU has gone 4-3-1.

All-American senior goalie Tally Hall indicated that the Aztecs play their best when faced with tough competition.
Is it a mental breakdown against those other teams?

It’s hard to imagine that with the iron grip of head coach Lev Kirshner controlling this squad.

So why is SDSU straining to make the NCAA tourney this season?

The answer may come down to simple execution.

The Aztec offense has had 221 shots so far this season, and converted only 22 of them. That’s a 10 percent success rate.
Last year, SDSU had 222 shots in the entire season.

The Aztecs are also giving up way too many goals compared to what they’ve been used to. They gave up nine goals all of last season. This season, SDSU has given up 18 already.

It’s encouraging that the Aztecs are getting more shots on goal, but when opponents continually get opportunities to score they are eventually going to convert them.

Hall can’t save everything.

Kirshner has been saying this all year long.

So is it youth?

Cardenas and freshman midfielder Evan Toft have played like veterans.

However, one glaring statistic could point to inexperience.

All five of SDSU’s losses have been by one goal.

In other words, a converted opportunity here or a defensive stop there during that stretch could realistically place the Aztecs on top of the conference right now.

The Pac-10 is that competitive and that close.

The conference is so highly-regarded that the NCAA selection committee generally gives a berth to the top two teams, not just the first place team.

SDSU has the pieces to make the NCAA tourney this year.

It has a goalkeeper who has proven he can single-handedly shut down offensive powerhouses.

It has the leaders.

And it has the coaching.

In the Aztecs’ final three games, they play No. 6 Cal, Stanford and No. 18 UCLA.

Will SDSU play the way it knows it is capable of playing and execute or will it come up short of its second straight NCAA tourney appearance?

Only the Aztecs can answer that now.

College Soccer (Women)

SDSU Aztecs get Otay Ranch mentoring

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 20, 2006 -- Head coach Mike Giuliano’s San Diego State University women’s soccer team kicked off Mountain West Conference play with a four-game unbeaten streak before finally tasting defeat by a 2-0 score at New Mexico on Oct. 19. Prior to the loss to the Lobos, the Aztecs had opened conference play with a 2-0-2 record that included victories against UNLV and Wyoming and ties against Air Force and BYU.

Giuliano, an Otay Ranch resident, maintains high hopes for the program but injuries to key personnel have added a frustrating element to most the season.

SDSU entered its final home match of the 2006 season against No. 15 Utah (unbeaten in conference play) on Oct. 22 with a 6-8-2 overall record.

Based on last year’s 11-9-2 conference finish and 2-1 overtime loss in the semifinals in the MWC championship tournament, conference coaches had tabbed the Aztecs to finish third in MWC play this season behind BYU and Utah.

At this point, Giuliano isn’t ruling anything out.

“I truly believe that this team should be one of the major superpowers of women’s soccer,” said Giuliano, who is coaching his third season with the Aztecs after winning four NAIA national championships in 11 years at Westmont College. “We’re well supported. One of our goals is to be a top 30 team.”

Giuliano set a specific goal this season of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. “We almost got there last year,” he said.
The Aztecs had a great kick-start to the season by defeating Butler (2-0) and No. 21 Perdue (4-0) at the Butler tournament in West Lafayette, Ind. Sophomore forward Erika Sutton (Arvada, Colo.) and freshman defender Lauren Leslie (San Clemente) earned Mountain West Conference offensive and defensive Player of the Week honors for their play in the tournament.

Sophomore forward Jen Mello (Pleasanton) led the team with 19 points on eight goals and three assists while Sutton ranked second with three goals and five assists through the team’s first 16 games.

“They’re our one-two punch. They’re just great together,” the SDSU coach said.

However, an injury to the team’s top defensive player has forced the team to rely on a freshman leader on the back-line.
Still, the Aztecs have had their moments.

Three of the Aztecs’ seven losses have come by 1-0 margins, including a Sept. 1 match at fifth-ranked UCLA.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Giuliano said. “We were out-shooting teams and losing 1-0.”

The Aztecs fell, 1-0, to nationally-ranked Pepperdine on Sept. 22 despite owning a 9-8 edge in shots.
SDSU played BYU, then ranked 15th in the nation, to a 2-2 standoff through double overtime on Oct. 12.

SDSU has sent 30 players to the pitch this season and underclassmen have been carrying the load with the majority of the team’s goal-scoring duties.

Mello earned MWC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 9-15 by scoring five goals in three games.
The Aztecs have seven San Diego County players on their 2006 roster: goalkeepers Jill Foss (Oceanside) and Cat Burson (Poway), defender Jillian Riker (Carlsbad), midfielder Jessica Girdner (San Diego), defender/forward Adora DaCosta-Muniz (Ramona), defender/midfielder Shayla Williams (San Diego) and forward Jackie Ragudos (San Diego).

Girdner had scored two goals this season in 16 game appearances while Burson owned a 6-8-0 record with a 1.44 goals-against average and .794 save percentage in 15 game appearances.

“The best San Diego players seem to either go to USD or out of the area. We’re working hard to keep all that talent at home,” Giuliano said.
One thing is certain: soccer appears to be entrenched in the Giuliano family. Oldest son Josh, 16, is a goalkeeper on the Otay Ranch boys soccer team. The Mustangs won last year’s South Bay League title and kick off 2006-07 play in late November. Justin, 13, plays AYSO soccer while Linnae, 11, plays soccer for the Bonita Rebels.

Justin attends Rancho del Rey Middle School; Linnae is a student at Heritage School.

Mike and his wife Barbara live in the Heritage neighborhood in Otay Ranch.

“We’re different. We moved from North County to the South Bay,” the elder Giuliano said, smiling.

A streak of wins to end the season would bring out even more smiles, regardless of where the team’s coaching staff or players reside.