NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE, NEW CONFERENCE FOR CSUN; KICKERS' HOPES ARE HIGH FOR THE BIG SKY : TEAM PROFILE.Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff WriterThe Cal State Northridge women's soccer team hopes a new season will bring better fortune. The Matadors, in just their second season of existence, finished 4-15-1 in 1996, losing 14 of its last 16 matches. Injuries also took their toll: Their No. 1 goalkeeper suffered a hip injury in a preseason water-skiing accident. Their sweeper suffered a broken collarbone col·lar·bone n. See clavicle. in practice one day after the team thrashed Cal State Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. 6-1 in the season opener. Their playmaker play·mak·er n. A player in a sport with goals, such as a guard in basketball, who initiates offensive plays. play , Marilyn Huschka tore her anterior cruciate ligament anterior cruciate ligament n. Abbr. ACL The cruciate ligament of the knee that crosses from the anterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the posterior part of the lateral condyle of the femur. midway through the season. But this new season not only brings promise, it also brings a new conference. Northridge has been picked to finish second behind Montana in the inaugural season of the Big Sky Conference in a preseason coaches poll. ``It's going to take a while to get over the growing pains grow·ing pains pl.n. Pains in the limbs and joints of children or adolescents, frequently occurring at night and often attributed to rapid growth but arising from various unrelated causes. ,'' coach Brian Wiesner said of the new conference, which includes five teams that have never fielded an intercollegiate team. ``But this is going to be a good league. There is good soccer in Oregon and Washington, and it's booming in Tucson (Ariz.) and Phoenix.'' The Matadors have already suffered one loss this season. Incoming transfer Nikki Thomas, who was missing for a week before she got in touch with the school, aggravated a back injury and is unable to play this season. ``She was really crushed that she couldn't play anymore,'' said Wiesner, who signed Thomas (a senior, eligibility-wise) sight-unseen from the University of Detroit Mercy UDM was ranked in the top tier of Midwestern master's universities in U.S.News & World Report "America's Best Colleges" 2007 edition. Athletically, the University sponsors 16 NCAA Division I level varsity sports for men and women, and is a member of the Horizon League. . ``She hurt her back again (she had back surgery as a sophomore) training for us and she couldn't do any of the drills. She didn't even tell her parents she was hurt.'' It is the second consecutive season that Wiesner has goalkeeper woes; last year the team lost a starter to a hip injury in the preseason. ``Two weeks ago we had five keepers,'' Wiesner said. ``Now we have two. You just have to play the cards you're dealt, though.'' Others, however, return, including 1996 team MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. Pam Karbowski, last season's stopper who will fill a defensive midfield role in her junior year. ``She's got both feet and she holds the ball well,'' Wiesner said. ``We moved her up so she can score.'' That would be a plus for the Matadors, who scored just 19 goals in 20 games in 1996. In addition to Karbowski, a healthy Huschka returns to shore up the midfield. She had a team-high five assists last season before tearing her left ACL See access control list. 1. ACL - Access Control List. 2. ACL - Association for Computational Linguistics. 3. ACL - A Coroutine Language. A Pascal-based implementation of coroutines. ["Coroutines", C.D. . Also returning is goalkeeper Tawni Takagi, a sophomore from Chatsworth High, who played all 1,850 minutes for the Matadors, finishing the season allowing 2.58 goals per game while making 18 saves in her last three games. She will be challenged by freshman Kelly MacGaunn. ``We will be a lot more skilled than in the past,'' Wiesner said, ``but we're still a real young team. I think (the Big Sky) knows that we have a good talent pool here.'' Coach: Brian Wiesner (3rd season, 12-24-4) Last season: 4-15-1 Season opener: Scrimmage - Sunday at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , 3 p.m. Home opener: Aug. 29, vs. Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. , 7:30 p.m. Top returning players: M Marilyn Huschka (tore ACL midway through 1996 season); M Pam Karbowski (team MVP last season); GK Tawni Takagi (starter last season); F Amy Gill. Top newcomers: D Beth Hoiby (Everett, Wash.); M Riya Gough (Point Loma, San Diego); GK Kelly MacGuann (Redondo High). CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box Photo: (1-2) Sophomore goaltender Tawni Takagi, who played every minute for CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge last year, will be challenged this year by freshman Kelly MacGaunn. Takagi was back at it this week, blocking shots in practice. John McCoy / Daily News (3) HUSCHKA (4) KARBOWSKI Box: TEAM PROFILE (see text) |
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