SOCCER TEAM: LIFE IN LIMBO; COACH, PLAYERS TRY TO COPE WITH UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

Mike Preis' dream is close to ending prematurely.

When Preis was this big, he said, holding his hand down to just above his kneecap, he wanted to play soccer at Cal State Northridge.

He realized his dream, joining the Matadors in 1996. After a year of turmoil that most close to the program say has been brewing much longer, Preis and his teammates have no clue if any one will be back next year.

Instead, they are left with questions. Will the athletic department cut the beleaguered soccer program entirely, as it did over the summer before last-minute fund raising and public outcry created a temporary life raft? Or will the recently formed Task Force on Athletics rescue soccer and the other three endangered men's sports for another year, another two years - another two weeks?

``I'll hear something new every day,'' said Preis, a sophomore striker from Chatsworth High who has attended all of the Monday task-force hearings. ``I feel like we're just hanging there, like piranhas, waiting to get some food.''

Head coach Marwan Ass'ad, who just completed his 15th season at the school, is tired of worrying about his team's future.

``It's been four years of this,'' he said. ``First it was the referendum, then we were cut, then we came back. It hasn't been the same since the earthquake.''

Since the administration created its own natural disaster of sorts by cutting soccer, men's volleyball, men's swimming and baseball during the summer, the Matadors' soccer program has been in flux.

Ass'ad, his contract expiring on Dec. 31, lost five starters when the initial cuts came. A booster club was formed to raise money to field a team - the club raised the necessary funds before the State Legislature came through with its $586,000, one-year bailout.

The off-field distractions had on-the-field consequences. The Matadors began this season 1-9 before winning five of their final six games.

While the task force is expected to make a recommendation to CSUN president Blenda Wilson by Monday, a time frame on a final decision on the future of the programs is much less clear-cut.

``Nobody knows,'' said goalkeeper Christian Perez, a former Moorpark High standout who transferred to CSUN after redshirting last year at New Mexico. ``They say it's a matter of time, but unfortunately it's something we don't have a lot of.''

The situation has put the players and Ass'ad in a difficult spot. If the program is terminated, the players who have not already transferred will be allowed to transfer to another school without having to sit a year under the NCAA's one-time transfer rule.

If the program is retained, as Ass'ad is beginning to believe will happen - ``Someone will come around and give us a million dollars. This is America,'' the oftentimes mercurial coach said Saturday - it might be a tougher road.

Northridge athletic director Paul Bubb has already told Ass'ad that an additional $4,000 would be cut from the soccer budget, which stood at $65,465 this fall.

The cut would most likely translate into downsized scholarships. Of the NCAA-maximum 10 scholarships available to collegiate men's soccer programs, the Matadors gave 4.5 in 1997.

The tighter money situation could cause the loss of even more players who cannot handle going to college and playing soccer without financial assistance. This year's best player, forward Federico Arroyo (11 goals, eight assists), said several players would not be able to afford staying at the school.

``I would like to play somewhere else, but financially and economically I can't do it,'' said Arroyo, who saves money by living at his parents' home in Van Nuys and commuting. ``If I didn't have the money they give me, I couldn't do it.''

At least four other players have said they could not attend school without the scholarship aid.

It is clear that other Division I programs - like UCLA, Cal or Cal State Fullerton - would take the former Northridge players. According to one Matadors player, some on the team have told friends at other schools to ``talk to your coach about me,'' - a practice that would be unheard of in a stable program.

Loyalty to Ass'ad remains strong even if the coach himself has an uncertain future. Ass'ad, already a successful club coach, has said he would like to coach a women's college team. With the status of his program up in the air, Ass'ad admitted he hasn't even begun recruiting for next season.

Even if there is a next season, the Matadors program could be faced with an unenviable situation: A underfunded team without its best players.

``There's no doubt soccer would have a tough time next year,'' said Bubb, who did not know that Ass'ad was not recruiting. ``I understand it's tough when recruits ask if we're going to have a program. You answer it by saying that we're working to have a program and we want you to be a part of it.''

With all the confusion and uncertainty, it might be a tough sell.

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PHOTO (color) With his program up in the air, 15-year CSUN soccer coach Marwan Ass'ad admits he hasn't begun recruiting for next season.

Evan Yee / Daily News