SPORTS
8
November 26, 2007
Sweat till you smile
Elizabeth Alexander
For love of the practice An intramural league is an easy way for the soccer buff extraordinaire to get a taste for the skill and competition of a real soccer match. Joining a team and being assigned a jersey number are only the beginnings of the unity and the excitement that there is to come. Every other Monday night at Cal State Fullerton, I play in a soccer match that represents so much more than exercise and sport. The game to me and my teammates represents passion – a passion for exhaustion. My team does not come to the field with an expectation for a fun time, but rather with the expectation to make beauty happen through teamwork. What are the prerequisites for joining the team? People may evaluate the skill level of each player in an intramural league based on this question. The only prerequisites for CSUF’s intramural soccer league are availability and love of the game. But the question remains, with these minimal prerequisites, can these matches really be considered games? My response is that, if nothing else, these Monday night soccer matches are an opportunity for practice in passion. In each game, I practice my skill and my ability to adhere to a strong and united structure, which makes up our team. We, together, are all practicing our strength and our collective ability to become a force to be reckoned with. What better thing is there to practice in life than the ability to unite as a group of individuals who share one true love – soccer?
Soccer is so much more than a sport because it relies on a unity, precision and skill that I see lacking in other forms of organized activity outside of sports. Participating in a recreational league is a privilege granted by CSUF, and what a privilege it is to sweat out drops of passion on the green fields of competition. The kickoff begins and each member is sent to his or her tip toes as we get the chance to start a real play, one which is abrasive and complicated to understand at first observation, similar to a work of art by Pablo Picasso or a live performance by Britney Spears. I would argue that anyone who could play soccer beautifully is one who could play any sport, based on the hours demanded in order to perfect your craft in soccer. If you can balance yourself enough to juke and fake-out your opponent, sometimes on one leg, you have earned the respect of any competitive athlete. Who are these players of recreational soccer then? They are a group of sports enthusiasts and skillful players combined to make a smorgasbord of craziness and talent. On the field it is everyone together kicking butt and taking names in the spirit of competition! You should know that anytime you go see an intramural game you are in for a spectacle of not just players and gamers, but individuals with a passion for soccer. As we near the end of the season, good luck to all of the participating teams. Viva futbol!
PHOTO By Karl Thunman/Daily Titan Photo Editor
Titan Christina Murillo comes short in intercepting a pass during the Nov. 16 game against UCLA.
Women’s soccer ends season after NCAA loss By Laura Burrows
Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com
The Nov. 16, 3-1 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the first round of NCAA play ended the season for Cal State Fullerton’s women’s soccer. The team was fresh from its third -straight Big West Conference tournament crown win, but could not overpower the No. 1 seeded Bruins. Bruins forward Kristina Larsen scored a quick goal in the fourth minute of play with a flick from the 6-yard line into the near post. McCall Zerboni followed with a second goal in the same corner of the net in the seventh minute. The Titans battled on throughout the first half, but Head Referee Brian Beyzaee’s call for a foul against the Titans in the box in the 38th minute led to the Bruins’ third and final goal. The Titans made it to half time with seven total fouls, zero corner kicks and only five shots. The Bruins led with nine shots at halftime and ended up doubling the total number of shots taken by the Titans at the close of the game. Titan Head Coach Demian Brown said he had hoped to enter the game strong and score in the first few minutes, but having the Bruins take the first goal did not weaken his team. “We got caught in a two-minute span where we were not ready, and UCLA is not a team that you want to
chase after,” Brown said. “But we kept our heads up. We gained composure and got to play our game.” A week earlier, Brown was named “Coach of the Year” for the Big West conference. He was the first-ever first-year coach to be given the title. Three individual awards were given to his players as well: the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year, Shayla Sabin; the Defensive Player of the Year, Jenae Gibbens; and the Midfielder of the Year, Stacey Thompson. Thompson, a captain and senior at CSUF, played her final game for CSUF at the Bruins’ Drake Stadium. The team graduates eight players this year. Coach Brown said replacing players like Nicole Scheid and Thompson will be a tough task, but he looks forward to the “incoming class of ‘08.” “Losing those early goals was like a punch in the stomach, but we kept on fighting,” Thompson said. “We made a couple changes at halftime, nothing drastic, but we were able to come together and get a fresh start. We don’t give up.” The second half opened with multiple fouls called on both teams. The Titans had a near-goal after forward Tanya Slusser took a hard hit right outside the 18-yard line in the 70th minute, but the hard shot from forward Lauren Cram went wide. Forward Christina Murillo scored the Titan goal with only seven minutes
left. The pass-and-go shot between her and Thompson was swatted away by Bruins keeper Valerie Henderson, but an ill-direction deflection by a Bruin defender forced the ball across the goal line. The Titans had one last close-call shot made from the 18-yard line with only two minutes left in the game, but they were unable to match the Bruins’ early attacks.
Titan sophomore Candice Byler substituted in the match and said she regreted nothing of the season. “We have come back from behind three goals before, and although we didn’t do that in this game, we are all still proud of ourselves,” Byler said. “We have a great program and great coach, and we are only going to get better and better. That is saying a lot for a Big West Champion team.”