Daily Titan
Friday, November 22, 2002
Offense...
quarterback has stepped up. This time it has been Marc Bulger, who has taken St. Louis from an abysmal 0-5 record, all the way back to .500 with Oh, the life of a kicker. Jose Cortez went from the five straight wins. Rams’ coach Mike Martz has said Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in 2000, to the Los Angeles Xtreme that Kurt Warner is his quarterback of the XFL in the first part of 2001 when he returns from the injured list. and finally to the San Francisco 49ers But if Bulger continues his winning last season. ways, a definite quarterback controAll of that action left Cortez with versy will be on Martz’s hands. virtually no offseason to rest and Quarterbacks were the main storecover. So when he tapered off and ryline of Week 11, but it wasn’t who started missing kicks for the Niners was starting. It was who could stay last season, many blamed it on the rig- upright. orous schedule and figured he would Three marquee names – Donovan make a strong comeback this season. McNabb of the Eagles, Tommy Still, he was forced to take his spot Maddox of the Steelers and Brian during preseason away from newly Griese of the Broncos – all suffered drafted rookie kickinjuries that put them er, Jeff Chandler. out of action for an OFFENSIVE PICKS That is until last extended amount of 1. Chargers week. time. 2. Patriots Cortez missed Maddox had the a 41-yard game3. Saints scariest of the three winning field goal injuries when he lay 4. Bills attempt in overtime motionless on the 5. Bears against his former field for more than 6. Jaguars team, the Chargers. 10 minutes after 7. Bengals San Diego eventusustaining a hit from 8. Rams ally won the game, Titans linebacker 9. Falcons 20-17. This all came Keith Bulluck. just two weeks after 10. Ravens Maddox, who Cortez missed anothhad been having a 11. Chiefs er potential gamecareer season until 12. Raiders winner in regulation that point, will likely 13. Packers against the Raiders. miss only two weeks 14. Giants He redeemed himafter a speedy recov15. Broncos self by winning the ery. 16. 49ers game later in overM c N a b b , time. who suffered a Due to his inconbroken ankle in sistency, Cortez now finds himself Philadelphia’s 38-14 victoy over on the inactive list, and Chandler is Arizona, is expected to miss extended footing the load. action, if not the rest of the season. The 49ers have been forced to The Broncos will have the easiest play their hand due to the resurgence job of replacing Griese with Steve of the Rams, who have proven that Beuerlein as their back up. lightning can strike twice. He nearly won the starting job In a scene that is straight out of at the start of the season and many their 1999 season in which they won expect him to thrive with this opporthe Super Bowl, a no-name backup tunity.
By Brian Thatcher
Daily Titan Sports Editor
on
the LINE NFL
Week 12 Sunday San Diego vs. Miami Minnesota vs. New England Cleveland vs. New Orleans Buffalo vs. N.Y. Jets Detroit vs. Chicago Jacksonville vs. Dallas Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh St. Louis vs. Washington Atlanta vs. Carolina Tennesee vs. Baltimore Kansas City vs. Seattle Oakland vs. Arizona Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay N.Y. Giants vs. Houston Indianapolis vs. Denver
Monday Night Football Philadelphia vs. San Francisco
Defense...
will not start against the Redskins. I don’t understand why Martz is doing this. The Rams can’t afford It looks as though last week was to lose another game and nobody knows what to expect from Warner. the week of injuries. Three high-profile quarterbacks Bulger is the one who is 5-0 and went down last Sunday. Donovan got this team back on track. I think McNabb of the Eagles broke his Martz owes him a few more starts. ankle and will be out six to eight Actually, you’d be surprised weeks, but still managed to throw how many things get forgiven for 255 yards and four touchdowns. when you win. The Rams are As Michael Irvin said on “The winning. They’re under no obligaBest Damn Sports Show Period,” if tion to change anything as long as McNabb plays like that with a bro- it continues. But one thing is for ken ankle, break his other ankle. sure. Bulger has made a name for Tommy Maddox of the Steelers himself in the league. So don’t be had a frightening moment when he surprised if teams with quarterback went down on a seemingly ordinary woes like Washington and Chicago tackle, but lay motionless for 15 inquire about his contract status. minutes thereafter. The playoff He suffered cerepicture is forming DEFENSIVE PICKS bral and spinal in the NFC, but 1. Chargers cord concussions. the AFC is still up 2. Patriots The latest report for grabs. is that he had a 3. Saints Thirteen of rather remarkthe 16 teams in 4. Jets able recovery and the AFC have at 5. Bears is expected to least .500 records 6. Jaguars start throwing on and are still in the 7. Steelers Friday. I’m glad playoff hunt. Each 8. Rams he’ll get a chance week will be more 9. Falcons to finish off his and more critical dream season. 10. Titans for AFC teams. The other quarThe playoff 11. Chiefs terback injured pool for the NFC, 12. Raiders Sunday was however, seems 13. Buccaneers Brian Griese of more decided. The 14. Giants the Broncos. He Eagles were look15. Broncos went down with a ing good, but now 16. 49ers sprained knee and that McNabb is will be out one to out, it looks like three weeks. The the Giants have a Broncos should be in good shape strong chance of winning that diviwith Steve Beuerlein, who almost sion. Green Bay is running away won the starting position from with the NFC North. It’s very likeGriese earlier this season. ly the 49ers will win the NFC West, So Rams coach Mike Martz is despite the surge of the Rams. The really going to do it. NFC South title could go to the After giving this team life and Saints, Falcons, or Buccaneers, but something to play for, Marc Bulger the other two teams will probably (who by the way has the highest get the two wild-card spots. quarterback rating in the league)
By Andrew Burns
Daily Titan Staff Writer
A Season Filled with Ups and Downs nSOCCER: Despite a strong start to what looked like a promising year, key player losses ended all playoff hopes By Odeen Domingo
Daily Titan Staff Writer “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” – Michael Jordan The Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer team learned a lesson this season that it will never forget. The Titans (12-5-1 overall, 6-3 in Big West) started the 2002 season strong, but as the season winded down and the matches became more crucial, the team seemed to burn out faster than Milli Vanilli’s career. The team learned to play solid for an entire season. With a young 2002 team (16 underclassmen, including 12 freshmen), CSUF hopes to apply that lesson in seasons to come. Heading into the season, everything was in place for another successful run. Fullerton was coming off its first ever Big West conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance. A good core of
players from last season was returning, including three first team AllBig West forwards (seniors Michele Bannister and Jenny Mescher and sophomore Kellie Cox) and junior Laura Janke, the goalkeeper that led a record-setting defense. The team’s coach, Ali Khosroshahin, was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in his rookie season. The 13-player incoming recruiting class, which included seven high school league MVPs, was ranked 22nd in the nation and sixth in the region by soccerbuzz.com. On top of that, the Big West coaches voted CSUF to repeat as conference champions. The Titans seemed poised and ready for another breakout year. But before the season started, Janke was unable to play for a few weeks because of an injury. So Khosroshahin had to start talented, but inexperienced freshman Karen Bardsley in goal. Bardsley became a pleasant surprise. On her way to ultimately winning the Big West Freshman of the Year award and earning a spot on the All-Big West Second Team, the 6-foot-1-inch freshman also acquired the UCI Tournament MVP, a spot on the National Elite Team of the Week and conference Co-Player of the Week during the first month of
the season. Bardsley registered an impressive 12-3-1 record, .096 goals against average and 88 total saves. The freshman also helped the team set a new team defensive record, surpassing the 2001 team in allowing only 21 total goals. All season, Khosroshahin utilized his team’s overwhelming speed and depth to counter opponents. The team’s 3-3-4 (three forwards, three midfielders, four defenders) base set would sometimes change to a 3-4-3 or 4-3-2 when it controlled the ball, shifting a defender up the field for more offensive pressure and scoring chances. Fullerton’s speed was superior in most matches, as through balls, crosses and the give-and-go were the team’s bread-and-butter plays. The game plan worked almost to perfection, with the Titans out scoring (39-21) and out shooting (315217) their 2002 opponents. Their depth was also apparent as 14 different players scored a goal through the season. In a 6-1 victory over UC Irvine on Oct. 20, six different players scored each goal. For the season, only three players had multiple-goal games. Freshman Allison Bowman had a two-goal game to help the Titans defeat Cal
SEAN DUFRENE/Special to the Titan
Though this defender took on more than she could handle, CSUF could not finish off its other opponents.
State Northridge, 3-2, on Oct. 4 and sophomores Kellie Cox and Vanessa Valentine both scored twice in a crucial 4-3 double overtime victory over UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 3. Continuing with the “only three players” theme, only three players (freshman Kandace Wilson, sophomore Erica Jacalone and junior Nicole Mularkey) recorded doubledigit points. Wilson led the team with seven goals, 17 points and 39 shots and tied for first with two game-winning goals with Mularkey and fellow freshman Allison Bowman. Sophomore Jacalone was second on the team with 12 points and tied for second with five goals on her way to an all-conference first team honor. Mularkey, a transfer from 2000 state champions Long Beach City College, had 11 points and shared second-place on the team in goals with Jacalone. The team’s first six games came in three separate tournaments. CSUF won its own tournament, the Soccer Town Classic with ease. But the next two tournaments were tough challenges, facing No. 24 St. Mary’s in the UC Irvine Nike Invitational and No. 6 Portland and No. 12 Washington in the Nike Portland Invitational. The young Titans more than held their own against the three-ranked teams, finishing 1-1-1 against them. Fullerton defeated St. Mary’s 1-0 in winning the UCI tournament. The team took Portland to overtime on Wilson’s equalizing goal with only 48 seconds left in regulation, but eventually lost 2-1. CSUF then tied Washington, 1-1, in a double overtime match. The Titans gained confidence after playing fairly well against nationally ranked teams and took that to the field, winning the next seven matches. Through the 7-0-1 unbeaten streak that tied the team record that was set last season, Fullerton also won its 13th straight game in the friendly confines of Titan Stadium. In the third victory of the winning streak, Mularkey’s game-winning goal to beat San Diego, 3-2, with just 1:12 left in regulation, earned her the conference Co-Player of the Week and national team of the week honors. Another dramatic ending came on Fullerton’s match against Pacific on Oct. 6. Wilson again had another late goal, this time a game-winner with exactly one minute remaining in regulation for a 2-1 victory. Before the team’s next game against Idaho, Bannister and Mescher were suspended indefinitely for unspecified conduct detrimental to the team on Oct. 10. The suspen-
sions proved critical for the rest of the season. CSUF went 4-4 to finish out the season, failing to defend its conference championship and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Titans missed Bannister and Mescher’s consistent offensive prowess. The two seniors led the 2001 team with 25 points each. Mescher, a San Jose State transfer, still tied freshman Erin Shelton for the team lead in assists even though she missed the last eight games of the season. Bannister, who earned the 2001 NSCAA/Adidas Junior College Player of the Year and won a state title with Mularkey at LBCC, had amassed six points and 27 shots in just 10 games. In 25 games in a Titan uniform, she is tied for seventh on the team’s career points list with Erin Rico (1994-96) and tied for second in career game-wining goals with Kelly Bogan (1995-98). But the seniors who did play the whole season were stars in their own right. Forward Kim Houg and defender Lindsey Glick made the 2002 All-Big West First Team. Defender Janelle Garcia was the Titan’s Inspirational Player of the Year. Garcia suffered a career-threatening leg injury, but battled back to play eight games and a crucial role in the UCSB victory. The senior played impressive for someone who is technically only 5 years old. Garcia was born on Feb. 29, 1980 and is a “leapyear baby.” Houg is sixth on Fullerton’s career point list with 31. Glick joined Jacalone and Valentine as the only players to start all 18 matches. She finished the year with one gamewinning goal and six points. Even though the Titans finished third in the Big West, they still lead the conference with eight total players on the All-Big West Team for the second straight season. Joining Glick and Houg were Bowman and Jacalone on the First Team. Cox, who was named to the First Team last season, joined Valentine and freshman Marlene Sandoval as Honorable Mention. Sandoval and junior Nadia Hernandez missed the last two games of the season because they joined the Mexican National Team in Gold Cup action. Overall, even though the team was disappointed in failing to defend its Big West championship and earn another NCAA Tournament appearance, the sense of disappointment could be considered a triumph for a women’s soccer program only in its 10th year of existence.
Five Titans Make AllBig West Cal State Fullerton junior mens soccer player Hector Orellana was named to the All-Big West Conference First-Team for the second consecutive season and headlined a list of four other Titans to earn all-conference honors in a vote of Big West coaches on Tuesday afternoon. Orellana led the Titans this season with 11 goals and six assists for 28 points. As of Nov. 18, he ranked third in the Big West in points, fourth in points per match (1.35), third in shots (64), third in goals, third in goals per match (0.55) and tied for ninth in assists. Junior midfielder Brent Whitfield was the Titans’ lone second-team selection after posting three goals and four assists (10 points) on the season, including an assist in the season finale against Cal State Northridge. Three Titans were named as honorable mention selections. Senior forward David Dischner, freshman midfielder Eugene Brooks and sophomore goalkeeper Sam Reynolds were all honored. Dischner had a pair of goals and an assist in his senior season, and was tied for fourth on the team in points. Brooks had a stellar rookie campaign, ranking season on the team with seven goals and 15 points. He also had an assist on the season. Reynolds finished his second season in a Titan uniform with a 7-7-2 overall record and a 1.56 goals against average, which ranked fourth in the Big West. He also had 83 saves on the year (.755 save percentage) which led the conference and ranked second in saves per match with 4.88. Cal State Fullerton finished the 2002 regular season with an 8-9-3 overall record and a 4-4-2 mark in league play for third place. -Information courtesy of CSUF Athletic Media Relations