ARCHITECT OF CSUN SOCCER PROGRAM LEAVES.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Marwan Ass'ad will not be the next women's soccer coach at Cal State Northridge, despite the heavy politicking in the last week. But the bigger surprise is he won't remain as coach of the men's program, either.

After 16 seasons in which Ass'ad won a school-record 192 games, he announced his resignation Friday, effective Dec. 31. He will become the coaching director of the West Valley Soccer League, an organization that has more than 1,000 members.

``I couldn't pass up this great job,'' Ass'ad, 44, said. ``It's too good. I'm going to coach the parents (who are coaching) and be very active in the club section. And I'm going to coach a youth team.''

It leaves CSUN without a soccer head coach for either program. Women's coach Brian Wiesner resigned last Friday, which is also effective Dec. 31.

``I know (Ass'ad) got a very good opportunity,'' CSUN assistant athletic director Brian Swanson said. ``Just like for the women's position, we'll conduct a national search.''

Ass'ad said salary was a factor in his decision. At $18,000 per year, Ass'ad regularly commented he was the lowest-paid head coach at CSUN - though it should be noted he took a pay cut to save the men's soccer program two years ago.

A sore point with Ass'ad was the $37,956 that Wiesner was paid annually, though Wiesner's contract also called for him to teach several classes in the kinesiology department.

While Ass'ad wouldn't say how much he was being paid by the West Valley Soccer League, he said ``Financially speaking, it's very rewarding to me. It's so much better for me and my family.''

Ass'ad said one of the reasons he decided to leave CSUN was the relationship he cultivated with former U.S. National Team coach Steve Sampson, who now heads California's amateur soccer programs.

``My future at Northridge is as its soccer coach, and he said I could have more of an impact coaching with (West Valley) than in college,'' Ass'ad said. ``I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm an awesome coach. People have so much respect for what I do.''

Ass'ad, who had a 192-102-26 record with the Matadors, saw CSUN flourish at the Division II level. The Matadors reached the NCAA tournament six straight seasons and were national runners-up in 1987 and 1988. He also led CSUN into Division I and was named the MPSF Pacific Division Coach of the Year in 1993.

But perhaps his most notable accomplishment came without reward. Two years after the program was dropped, Ass'ad rebuilt the Matadors and went 12-5 this fall. However, since CSUN wasn't affiliated with a conference, it was left out of the NCAA Tournament.

``I will miss the staff, but most importantly, I will miss Grace (Collins, an associate athletic director),'' said Ass'ad, who had three losing seasons with the Matadors. ``She was so supportive of our program. But I do want to thank the fans and my booster club and former players.''

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PHOTO (Color) MARWAN ASS'AD

After 16 years at CSUN, he'll be coaching director with the West Valley Soccer League