Sept. 22, 1997
No. 9 Cal Opens Conference Play at Home
BEARS OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY AT HOME: After playing its last three games on
the road, Cal (4-1-1) returns to Witter Field to host the Sacramento State
Hornets on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. The Bears defeated Sac State, 6-3, in
last season's matchup in Sacramento and lead the series, 12-6-3. Steve
Rullo recorded a hat trick, while Adam Hunter, Jason Young and Juan Luis
Romero had the other goals for Cal in the victory.
WEEK FOUR HIGHLIGHTS: The Bears fell to the No. 21-rated Portland Pilots on
Sunday, Sept. 21 at Portland, 4-1, to record their first loss of the
season. Senior Adam Hunter prevented what would have been the first time
Cal has been shutout since the MPSF title match last year (Nov. 11 versus
UCLA) when he knocked in a throw-in from senior Jason Young to give Cal its
only score, 61 minutes into the contest. The game marked the first time an
opponent has netted a goal off of sophomore goalkeeper Doug Brooks this
season. Previously, the only goal that he had allowed was an inadvertent
shot by a Cal player in the Saint Mary's game Sept. 2.
BECK SUFFERS BREAK: Junior midfielder John Beck suffered a broken leg in
the first half of the Portland game last Sunday. Beck, a starter in five of
six games for Cal and one of the team's top players, was kicked in the shin
by a Portland player which caused a complete fracture of his tibia. He will
be out for the rest of the season. The coaching staff is unsure if Beck
will be able to medically redshirt this season, since he has already played
in five games. He played his first two years of soccer at Brown, before
transferring to Cal for his final two seasons.
BELL, MACDONALD ON A ROLL: Sophomores Justin Bell and John Macdonald were
recognized for their play in the Brown-adidas Foot Locker Tournament, which
Cal won Sept. 12-14. A forward for the Bears, Bell was named to Soccer
America's Team of the Week (Sept. 16) for his two goals in the Brown
tournament, including the game-winner in Cal's 1-0 victory over Brown.
Macdonald, who is also a forward, earned the Daily Californian Athlete of
the Week (Sept. 17). In Cal's 6-0 victory over then-No. 15 Rhode Island, he
had one assist and three goals to complete the first hat trick of his
college career. Both Bell and Macdonald were also named to the
all-tournament team. Currently, Macdonald (4 goals, 1 assist) is the team's
leading scorer with nine points, while Bell (4 goals) is in second place
with eight.
BEARS IN THE RANKINGS: The Bears opened up the 1997 campaign with a
preseason No. 12 ranking by Soccer America. Cal moved up two notches to
move into the 10th spot Sept. 1 after its opening win versus UC Davis.
Despite a tie with Saint Mary's and a win over San Jose State, the Bears
fell to No. 12 Sept. 7. With shutouts against Rhode Island and Brown, Cal
moved up to the No. 9 slot in Soccer America's poll and received its first
ranking of the year (No. 14) in the National Soccer Coaches Association
poll.
ABOUT SAC STATE: The Hornets were 5-11-2 overall in 1996, 0-3-1 in the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. They are led by ninth-year head coach
Michael Linenberger. Sacramento State enters the match with a 1-7 record
this season, its only win coming against Cal State Hayward, 3-1. The
Hornets are led by senior midfielder Ygnacio Zarate and sophomore defender
Jerrus Roxas.
THE COACHES: Head coach Mark Mallon is in his fifth season at the helm for
the Bears with a school and career record of 35-40-8. 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.
BEAR NOTES: Portland junior Chris Brown tagged the Bears for another hat
trick last Sunday...he also scored three goals in the matchup last year to
give Portland the 3-0 win...after holding opponents scoreless (except for
an "own" goal vs. Saint Mary's) for the first five games, Cal gave up four
goals to Portland in its first loss of '97...the team's leading scorer a
year ago, Adam Hunter has two goals and one assist to date...Brooks has 10
career shutouts to date, one more and he'll move into a tie for fifth place
in individual career shutouts.
THIS WEEK:
Sunday, Sept. 28 SACRAMENTO STATE WITTER FIELD 4 p.m.
NEXT WEEK:
Friday-Sunday, Oct. 3-5 at Stanford Invitational
Friday, Oct. 3 vs. Dartmouth 2 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5 vs. Harvard 11 a.m.
