From the Bench... Sept. 11, 2002 – Fullerton, Calif.
Coach Al Mistri:
"The alumni game comes at a good time for us. We can use it as a
tool to get better without the pressure of a game.
"Right now, our biggest problem is in our heads. We are mentally
out of it after last weekend's matches. The scores would indicate that
we are one of the lousiest teams in the nation, but the play was not that
severe. Both of those teams will probably be in the national Top Ten this
week. We didn't play our best, so we welcome the two weeks off to retreat
and regroup and work out some of the problems we can correct.
"Playing two teams of that caliber back-to-back was not ideal and
wasn't by design. A series of events led to that scheduling. These are
the kinds of teams we want to play, just not less than 48 hours apart.
"The UCLA match was close and we just didn't finish some chances.
We played USD 10 on 11 for more than a half, which is nearly impossible
to do against such a physical team.
"We still have a 16-game schedule and the league is shaping up to
be phenomenal this year. I'm voting for UC Santa Barbara in the national
polls at 3-0. Winning the conference will have far more significance this
year.
"Heatlhwise, we hope Brent Whitfield's ankle will get better with
the week off."
