Oct. 20, 1997
Bears Travel to Fullerton Invitational
THIS WEEK:
@ Fullerton Invitational
Friday, Oct. 24 UC Irvine Fullerton 5 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 26 Cal State Fullerton Fullerton 3:30 p.m.
NEXT WEEK:
California-adidas Foot Locker Tournament
Friday, Oct. 31 SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 2 No. 1 INDIANA MEMORIAL STADIUM 3 p.m.
BEARS FACE UC IRVINE, CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Golden Bears (8-4-1, 2-2) will head south this weekend to compete in the Fullerton Invitational when they will face UC Irvine (3-5-4, 1-3-1) Friday, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. and Cal State Fullerton (8-6-0, 3-1) Sunday, Oct. 26 at 3:30 p.m. The Bears are leading the series with Irvine, 5-1-1, but played to a tie last year, 2-2, in Irvine. The contest against Cal State Fullerton will mark the ninth time the two teams have met, with the Titans owning the series, 4-2-2. The Titans hold a three-game winning streak versus the Bears, including a 5-2 win in 1994 at Fullerton.
WEEK EIGHT HIGHLIGHTS: The Bears trounced Chico State Oct. 15, 4-1, with senior Adam Hunter leading the way with two goals and an assist. Just 10 minutes into the first half, Hunter nailed a shot for the game's opening goal when senior Jason Young found him off a throw-in. Only four minutes later, Young delivered the ball to Hunter again for an easy left-foot shot to net his second goal of the day. Also getting into the first-half action was sophomore John Macdonald, finding the back of the net with two minutes remaining. Freshman Kendall Simmonds hit for a second-half score to round out the Bears scoring.
Four days later, the Bears lost to Stanford in their final MPSF conference match, 3-1, allowing the Cardinal to clinch the conference title with the win. Stanford got on the board first when junior Adam Siegman scored in the 14th minute. But Hunter knotted the game at one apiece 15 minutes later. Simmonds turned in the assist on the play. Just before the half, Stanford fired a goal to the far post in what proved to be the game-winner. The Bears opened the second half with an intensive attack, but failed to post another goal.
IN THE HUNT: Senior forward Adam Hunter, the Bears leading scorer a year ago, is in the hunt for the scoring tiltle again this season. With three goals and one assist this past week, Hunter moved into the number one slot, totalling six goals and three assist sfor 15 points to date. He is also moving up on Cal's career lists in goals and assists. Currently, he ranks fourth for career goals with 23 and holds the fifth spot for career assists with 16.
FIRE AWAY: There is no doubt that the Bears have had the opportunity to score. So far this season, Cal is outshooting its opponents, 272-138. In the Bears recent loss to Stanford, they had 18 shots on goal compared to the Cardinal's 7. In fact, Cal has only been outshot once this season, 14-9, in a 4-0 loss to Washington. But the Bears have only converted 28 of their scoring opportunites for goals.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: UC Irvine, led by third-year head coach George Kuntz, is 3-6-4 overall, 1-3-1 in MPSF play. Junior forward is the Anteaters' leading scorer with five goals and two assist. Head coach Al Mistri is in his 17th year with Cal State Fullerton. The Titans (8-6, 3-1) defeated No. 2 UCLA Oct. 17, 3-1, but lost to Cal State Northridge Oct. 19, 3-2, in overtime. Senior forward Sheldon Thomas is heading the Titans with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points, while senior forward Charlie Lynch (8 goals, 3 assists) is also a scoring threat.
THE COACHES: Head coach Mark Mallon is in his fifth season at the helm for the Bears with a school and career record of 39-43-8. Last season, Mallon guided Cal to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986. He is joined for the third year by assistant coach Lyle Yorks, a former All-American at the University of Virginia and goalkeepers coach Raffi Kardzair, who played at the University of San Francisco.
THROW-INS: Since losing junior midfielder John Beck to a broken leg Sept. 21, the Bears have gone 4-4-0. With Beck, Cal is 4-0-1 ... Hunter's score marked just the third goal this season Stanford freshman Adam Zapala has allowed. Zapala leads the nation in goals against average ... 14 Bears have recorded one or more points this season ... five players -- Hunter, junior Matt Newmark, sophomore J.V. Ganal, sophomore Derrick Dyslin and sophomore Doug Brooks -- have started all 13 games for Cal this year.
