SPORTS
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
L.A. Galaxy extinguishes Fire at CSUF
Titan women’s soccer enjoys but emphasized one specifically. He made the team commit to disallowing the opposition to score early. The Titans (8-12 last season) committed by shutting out the Roadrunners in the first half and limiting their firsthalf shot attempts to only four. Freshman forward Kellie Cox blistered a left-foot shot from inches inside the penalty area past the By Jeff Benson outstretched goalkeeper. Midway Daily Titan Staff Writer through the first half, Fullerton had a 1-0 edge. Women’s soccer head coach Ali Midfielder Erica Jacalone followed Khosroshahin admits to being “new in the second half with a goal-scoring at this.” He’d been an assistant under header off of a Danielle Turnquist former CSUF head coach Al Mistri corner kick. for four years, yet he’d never expeAfter Bakersfield forward Carrie rienced winning with a team of his Montague’s long cross shot brought own. the game within one, a well-struck That may only make him more ball ricocheted off of Fullerton goalanxious to succeed in his fledgling keeper Julianna Elliott’s fingertips. season at the CSUF helm and to pick She recovered quickly, however, and up his first career win. With a young smothered the ball amidst a barrage squad that features only three return- of scrapping feet to preserve the vicing starters, Khosroshahin said he’s tory. taking his new job very seriously. Fullerton committed 20 fouls to “ We ’ r e Bakersfield’s ready to play eight, but none s o m e b o d y, ” facilitated any Khosroshahin goal-scoring said. “We’re sequences. tired of playThis was ing each other. the last exhibiWe’re ready tion game for to start kickthe Titans, who ing somebody Friday squared else.” off in an interHis team did squad Blueexactly that, White scrimresponding mage. with a victory Cox had four Sunday night in goals and two a 2-1 exhibition assists in a 6sweat-soaker 3 Blue win. at Cal State Forward Kim Bakersfield. Houg had two “Ali”, as he goals for the is modestly White squad, referred to, had while midfieldpressed several ABIGAILE C. SIENA /Daily Titan er Tennli Ulicny points in a pre- Preseason finds CSUF women in and forward game speech first ever meeting with Bakersfield. M i c h e l e to the team, Bannister
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nSOCCER: Titan Stadium hosts Major League Soccer competition as professional sports make quick visit to Fullerton en route to championships
nPRESEASON: Roster filled with young players proves to be successful for Coach Khosroshahin
By Tim Gillett
Special to the Titan
ABIGAILE C. SIENA /Daily Titan
Titan Blue and White face off during intra-squad scrimmage. had one apiece for their opposing sides. With three shots on goal and several near-breakaway opportunities, fleet-footed Cox is developing into a scoring menace. With the two assists Friday and numerous setup opportunities Sunday, she’s showing that she can pass as well. “I like to take advantage of the opportunities I see and be a wellrounded player,” Cox said. “I try to look up top and look for anyone who talks to me.” This kind of communication is a key fundamental of Khosroshahin’s game plan. He said in a post-game discussion that he expects his team to call out to each other more often, rather than relying on him for the answers. He acknowledged that the team’s play, however, lived up to his expectations. “I think we did well, but we could have performed a little better,” Khosroshahin said. “They were ner-
vous. But I’d give the team a C for the night. A win is a win, any way you can take it.” Khosroshahin says the team needs to work on making more efficient choices and quicker decisions, including opening up channels, pace on the ball, and play in transition. An unwanted theme for the Titans in their preseason practices has been the abundance of nagging injuries. “We have a lot of injuries, so we even have some of our guys playing,” said midfielder Kelly Keohen, who Friday was nursing a sternum injury. “But this year we’re going to be the best we’ve ever been. It’ll be worth watching.” Keohen played as a substitute in Sunday’s game, and like several others, is expected to play this weekend in Fullerton’s tournament, the FILA Classic, Khosroshahin said. On Saturday, Fullerton opens its regular season at 5 p.m. against Denver, who was 11-6-3 last year. On Monday at 1 p.m., they run with perennial powerhouse Portland,
The Los Angeles Galaxy’s veteran defender Alexi Lalas scored the golden goal against the Chicago Fire in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal in overtime at Titan Stadium Wednesday. The Galaxy now advances to the final for the first time in their history. These two teams met last year in the semi-final stage with the opposite result. Chicago scored in extra time to advance and eventually win the tournament. This year the Galaxy and Lalas proved to be too hot for the Fire to handle. The goal came in the fourth minute of overtime when Lalas headed the ball past Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton at the far post. “It’s euphoria, it’s a climax like no other and you kind of lose your senses,” said Lalas about his golden goal in a post game interview. It was served to Lalas from a corner kick delivered by fellow team member and New Zealand international Simon Elliot. Lalas did not start the game, but was substituted into the game in the 77th minute replacing Orange County native Danny Califf. The game started fast and was attack oriented, but soon settled into a strategic match of carefully orchestrated assaults at both ends of the field. The second half saw clutch saves made by both goalkeepers. Chicago’s DaMarcus Beasley took a well-placed shot that was good enough for the goal, but L.A.’s Kevin Hartman was equal to it producing a fantastic leaping save. It took a fully extended diving save by Zach Thornton to keep the Galaxy’s number 25, Martin Quijano,
from scoring just moments after the Beasley blast. The goalkeepers were the silent heros of the game, both with solid performances. “The win is great. It is great for the Galaxy to get ourselves into a championship game,” said Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “It was one of those games that had a lot of chess on the field. There was a lot of thinking and a lot of tired bodies, but you saw a great tactical soccer game.” The Galaxy will next face the New England Revolution, who recently defeated Washington D.C. United, in the final October 27 at a site yet to be determined.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY Kevin Hartman, Adam Frye, Danny Califf (Alexi Lalas ‘77), Greg Vanney, Ezra Hendrickson, Simon Elliott, Peter Vagenas, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Sasha Victorine, Cobi Jones, Marvin Quijano (Isaias Bardales Jr. ‘63). CHICAGO FIRE Zaach Thornton, C.J. Brown, Carlos Bocanegra, Evan Whitfield, Diego Gutierrez, Chris Armas, Jesse Marsch, Peter Nowak, DaMarcus Beasley, Dema Kovalenko, Hristo Stoitchkov (Sergi Daniv ‘16[Eric Wynalda ‘80]).
Game Statistics Total Shots Shots on goal Saves Fouls
Galaxy
Fire
13 7 3 12
10 3 5 17