MASTER'S COLLEGE: MUSTANGS SCORE PLENTY BUT COACH STILL WORRIED.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer

Even in the midst of his team's most complete win of the soccer season, The Master's College coach Jim Rickard was a little worried.

The Mustangs were hosting the first round of the NAIA Far West Region Independent playoffs, and no margin seemed very secure to Rickard.

Even as the Mustangs jumped out to leads over U.S. International, 1-0, then 2-0 and 3-1, Rickard subbed his midfielders to keep them fresh.

``I wanted to rest them because I didn't think a two-goal lead was safe just yet,'' said Rickard, who had seen the Gulls rally from 2-0 down in a regular-season meeting and force overtime.

``Even when we had a 4-1 and 5-1 lead I didn't think it was that safe yet,'' Rickard said.

Then the shots kept coming and coming at USIU goalkeepers. When the referee's whistle blew, the Gulls were put out of their misery. Thirty-eight shots on goal, eight of which found the net in an 8-1 victory.

``You hope (the number of goals) doesn't hurt you in the next game. But you take them as they come,'' Rickard said.

Lucas Principe, a senior from Buenos Aires, Argentina, wasn't complaining. He finished with a hat-trick before being substituted in the second half.

``We took advantage of our scoring chances,'' he said. ``Things came together for us.''

It hadn't been this way. The regular season saw the Mustangs lose their first four games, rally to win four of five, lose two in a row, win three and then struggle down the stretch for an 8-10 record.

There have been several nagging injuries, some of which have yet to heal. But that issue is moot now when the games mean so much. Nothing is more important than Saturday's 1 p.m. match at Dominican for the regional independent championship.

``Even for the guys who might be at 70 percent, they're still coming out and going hard,'' Principe said.

Cross country: The Mustangs men and women will be well represented at the NAIA Championships on Nov. 15 in Kenosha, Wis.

Angie Beaumont's eighth-place finish at the West Region finals sends her to the nationals, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

In the men's regional race, Kurt Anglebeck placed fourth and is also headed to Wisconsin.

Volleyball: The Mustangs are sizzling as the season winds down. On Oct. 17, they dropped a 15-8, 15-6, 15-9 decision to Biola and sank to 9-16 overall.

Since then The Master's is 6-1, the latest win a 15-8, 15-8, 15-8 sweep of Occidental.