From the Bench... Sept. 24, 2002 – Fullerton, Calif.
Coach Al Mistri:
on the upcoming schedule:
"These next three games are crucial for us... the last three before
the first NCAA regional ratings for the playoffs come out. This week we
start out at Fresno State, which is an extremely difficult place to play.
They are usually among the national leaders in attendance. We played up
there in the Spring so we would be used to the surroundings There wasn't
a large crowd but it was a very close mattch.
"On Sunday we play an 8-0 team in New Mexico. The record speaks for
itself. Both will be very difficult matches. We won't have Adriano Lima
(red card) for the Fresno State match and it doesn't look good for Sam
(Reynolds, the goalkeeper). He has a shoulder that's not 100 per cent.
He sees the doctor again on Wednesday. Freshman Kyle Polak did 'OK' against
Santa Clara for his first match. The third goal was a real screamer that
I don't think anyone could have stopped."
on last week's action in Santa Clara:
"We had a good trip and should have come out of there 2-0 or at least
1-0-1. We scored six goals in the two matches and had chances galore for
several more. We are feeling more confident about our offense and only
a couple of good saves and the post getting in the way denied us a great
weekend.
"Judging by their body language coming off the field, I think Santa
Clara's team, their coaches and their usually rabid fans knew that they
had escaped with one on Saturday. It was not behavior typical of a team
winning its own tournament. After Lima got the red card with about 25
minutes to play, we got better and if life was fair, it should have at
least been a tie.
"We are getting better all the time and I can honestly say that we
haven't caught a break yet in six games."
