CSUDH Men's Soccer Weekly Release
September 25, 2001

THIS WEEK IN TOROS SOCCER
Sept. 21 #1 CSUDH @ Alliant University San Diego, 3 pm

LOOKING AHEAD: The NCAA II defending national champs play their third game in their season long 5-game road trip at Alliant University (formerly U.S. International University) in San Diego on Friday. Kick-off is at 3:00 p.m.

SERIES NOTES: Friday's game will mark the 5th meeting all-time between the Globe Runners and the Toros. Their last meeting was during the 1989 season when CSUDH swept a two-game series 1-0 and 3-1.

A LOOK BACK...

TOROS SPEAR TRITONS: The Toros won a nail-biter in La Jolla with a 1-0 win over UC San Diego to keep their conference record perfect. It wasn't easy though, as the Tritons and Toros battled to a scoreless tie until the 78th minute of play when Sean Lockhart (Palm Springs HS) took a pass from Gabriel Valencia (Salesian HS) at the top of the box and one-timed it to the near post catching the UCSD goalie off his line for a 1-0 lead. Luis Morales (Banning HS) earned his second consecutive shutout in goal for the Toros.

TOROS NIP ANTELOPES: Sean Lockhart scored the game-winning goal as Cal State Dominguez Hills kept their winning streak alive in the Valley of the Sun with a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win over Grand Canyon University in CCAA action at The Meadow. It wasn't easy though. At times, it even seemed bleak. However, the Toros might as well start calling themselves the "cardiac kids" as they saved their best for the second half and the first extra period to continue their winning streak now at 22 games in a row. Down 2-0, the Toros cut the lead in half when Chris Wimmer (Fountain Valley HS) headed in a cross from Lockhart at the 52:06-minute mark. Rick Cobb (Warren HS) tied the game with less than a minute remaining. At 89:21, Cobb won a scramble in front of the mouth of the goal off a Grand Canyon clearing attempt and knocked his shot to the back of the net making it 2-2 and giving CSUDH new life to send the contest into overtime. Then with just seconds left in the first overtime period, junior forward Scott White (Sonora HS) played a ball over the top of the Antelope defense from the left side. Lockhart ran onto it inside the box and one-timed his shot to the far post at 104:45 for the dramatic sudden-victory. The goal was Lockhart's team-best 7th of the year. Goalkeeper Luis Morales gains the win with nine saves.

ALL ABOUT ALLIANT?: Alliant International University competes as an NAIA Independent. They are 5-3-2 and are coming off a 6-0 win against Hope International. Individual statistics are not available, but as a team they have had some impressive results. They tied NAIA No. 7 ranked Azusa Pacific 1-1 and No. 22 ranked Westmont College 0-0 earlier this year. They have put up big numbers, defeating Vanguard University 7-0 two weeks ago. As a team, they have outscored their opponents 23-9. Their top returning player from last year is senior forward Gareth Atkins (9g, 3a) and Johann Carlsson (9g, 2 a).

LOCKHART LEADING: Sean Lockhart has scored in the past nine games and continues to lead the team with 21 points on eight goals and five assists. He has scored nine points in the past four games and is now tied for the team lead with three game-winning shots, including both game-winning goals against UC San Diego and Grand Canyon this past week.

MORE LOCKNESS SIGHTING: Sean Lockhart now owns the Toros record outright for career assists with 20 breaking the old mark of 19 set by Martin Mira (1987-90). Lockhart's assist on Chris Wimmer's goal last night at Grand Canyon gave him sole possession of the record. He also has 50 career points which ranks him 6th in career scoring. Next up...Gerardo Yepez with 54 points.

BALANCED AS CAN BE: It seems that when the opposition keys on a certain Toros player, someone else steps up to carry the load. This is evidenced by the fact that 16 of 18 players have scored at least one point. After Lockhart's team-leading 21 points, junior forward Gabriel Valencia (Salesian HS) is next with 12 points on 5 goals and 2 assists. Sophomore midfielders Eddie Gonzales-Pinto (N. Torrance HS) and Victor Guerrero (Century HS) each have 9 points followed by junior forward Scott White (Sonora HS) and freshman midfielder Rick Cobb (Warren HS) with 8 points each.

TOROS STILL ON TOP: As of this writing (Sept. 25th), CSUDH is still on top of the national collegiate polls. The Toros have been on top of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national polls since October 8, 2000. The Toros began the 2001 season as the preseason #1 ranked team, and have remained on top with their 10-0-0 start to the campaign.

KING OF THE ROAD: After opening up the 2001 campaign with seven of their first eight games at home, the Toros are now in the midst of a season-high 5-game road trip. They are currently 2-0 and after playing Alliant this Friday, the team will travel to San Francisco State and Sonoma State next week before returning home on Friday, Oct. 12 to take on UC Davis.

IT TAKES A TEAM: The Toros are dominating opponents statistically. The team has outscored the opposition 97-27 including a 33-10 goal advantage. CSUDH has out-shot opponents 186-93 including a 14-3 edge in overtime periods.

TOROS ON THE WEB: You can now access results, stories, statistics and other information about Toros soccer on the world wide web.