Toros Men's Soccer Team's Drive for NCAA Title Takes Turn to Durango
November 16, 2005

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NCAA Quarterfinal Preview: The Toros drive for the National Championship takes them to Durango, Colorado, where they will face the nation's top-ranked team in undefeated Fort Lewis College (19-0-1) on Saturday, November 19, at 1:00 p.m. The winner of this match will take on the winner of Lynn (15-2) and Lander (11-4-4) in one NCAA Semifinal match on Friday, December 2, hosted by Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

K.C. & the Sunshine Band: Sophomore Kei Kamara and senior Francisco Corona lead a balanced Toro attack, combining for 24 goals and 12 assists on the season. Kamara, the 2004 CCAA MVP, has tallied 15 goals and five assists, connecting for nine game winners, while Corona, the CSUDH all-time career leader in points scored, has scored nine goals and dished seven assists. Junior Jesse Graham (left), sophomore Sammy Rivas, freshman Nick Rippeto and senior Jason Koza all have contributed five goals as seven Toros boast at least 13 points on the season.

In goal, junior Kyle Polak again has been outstanding, notching seven shutouts en route to a paltry 0.83 goals per game against average. Additionally, Polak and the Toros defense have allowed only one goal in seven contests.

About Fort Lewis: At 19-0-1 and the NSCAA’s top-ranked team in the nation, Fort Lewis College won round two of the NCAA playoffs last weekend against Colorado School of Mines, 1-0, and will host its first NCAA playoff game since the 1999 season when it knocked off St. Edwards and UC Davis en route to a runner-up national finish. The Skyhawks have qualified for the NCAA playoffs six times since becoming a varsity program in 1991 (‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘01, ‘04, ‘05), and is 4-5-1 all-time in NCAA Division II playoff games.

The Fort Lewis College men's soccer team captured its ninth league title in 2005. The Skyhawks own seven Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference crowns (‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01, ‘04, ‘05) and two Colorado Athletic Conference trophies (‘93, '95).

Road to the Mountain Top: The Toros toppled 5-time NCAA Champion Seattle Pacific University in a classic match-up last Monday to determine the NCAA Far West Regional Champion. After SPU’s Jeff Hallenbeck notched the game’s first goal at 26:54, CSUDH freshman Nick Rippeto took a cross from Francisco Corona at 59:05 and blasted his shot past the SPU goalkeep to knot the contest at 1-1, where it would remain through regulation.

In the extra frame, the Toros wasted little time in punching their ticket for Colorado as sophomore Kei Kamara (pictured) would intercept a miscue deep inside the Seattle Pacific zone and left-foot a blast through the hands of Falcon goalkeeper Kellen Rosten and into the back of the net to give the Toros a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory and a ticket to Durango as the 2005 NCAA Division II Regional Champions.

Remember the Titans: The Toros owe Cal State Fullerton a bit of thanks as Kyle Polak (pictured) and Sammy Rivas once called Fullerton home. Polak, a two-time 2nd-team All-CCAA selection, has been a mainstay in goal over the past two seasons with 31 wins, while Rivas, in his first year in Cardinal & Gold, has seen action in all 23 games thus far, contributing five goals and four assists on the year.

If the Toros manage to defeat the Skyhawks, and take both matches in Wichita Falls to win the NCAA Championship, Polak will tie former Toros keeper Garrett Estrin with 34 wins in a career, with his senior year still on the horizon.

Says Polak, “I am excited about this because I’ve never been this deep into the playoffs. We’re all trying to make sure that we stay positive and help our seniors out because, pretty much, each game is for the seniors now, trying to get that ring.”

Third Time’s the Charm: It’s been a long road for Francisco Corona. Coming to perennial power CSUDH as a highly-touted sophomore in 2003, Corona has made the NCAA playoffs in his three years in Carson, but had yet to win a playoff game until the Toros’ victory over Seattle Pacific last Monday. With that win under his team’s collective belt, Corona, the CSUDH single-season record holder for assists, saw a transformation in the team’s make-up, a change that told him the Toros aren’t satisfied with getting the monkey off its back with their one postseason win.

“We have the chemistry and the willingness to achieve what we want,” he begins. “We have to make a few minor adjustments, and continue playing like a team. To me, these playoffs mean everything. Being a senior, I want to leave here with a bang.”

Youth is Served: The experience of the NCAA playoffs is certain to benefit Toro teams of the future, specifically the classes of 2008 and 2009. On head coach Joe Flanagan’s current roster, eight are freshmen while five are just sophomores. Included in that mix are Kei Kamara, Sammy Rivas, Nick Rippeto, Mike Jimenez, Devin Schiller, Alberto Garcia, Carmelo Terranova and Greg Quinones, who all have seen action in at least 65% of the Toros games this year.

His “Gold” Luck Charm: Sophomore Kamara is sporting a new look nowadays, as evidenced by a gold-colored mohawk which he donned towards the end of the season. Whether or not this has spurred the Toros’ play over the stretch run is open for discussion, but according to Kamara, why change what’s working.

“I just woke up one day and told my roommate to give me the hair cut,” he explains. “It came from one of my idols, Djibril Cisse, who plays for Liverpool, and yeah, I think it’s kind of a good luck thing, so it’s not going away until the season is over.”

Minami Time: As someone whom head coach Flanagan calls “a great player,” Jaret Minami is the only four-year senior on the Toro squad. Arriving as a freshman in 2002, one season after the Toros reached the title game and two seasons after winning it all, this is Minami’s first experience winning a postseason game, and a feeling he doesn’t want to end. “Just getting over that hurdle of not winning a playoff game the past three years, right now I kind of feel numb,” he begins. “But a lot of weight is off our shoulders, and the fact that our team is really young might be a positive for us because they don’t feel the pressure that some of the returners have felt with our expectations. They come in fresh and their energy is positive, which helps us.”

The Flanagan File: CSUDH head coach Joe Flanagan is no stranger to CSUDH soccer. Not only did he enjoy a stellar career in a Toro uniform during which he established the career record for goals in a season (38), he has coached the Toros to their only NCAA National Championship in 2000, when CSUDH defeated Barry University, 2-1, in a classic 4-OT thriller. Additionally, Flanagan has claimed CCAA conference Coach of the Year honors four times (including in 2005), and the National Coach of the Year in 2000. Entering this season, Flanagan sat as the 12th-winning active coach in the NCAA II level with a .704 winning percentage. Currently, he sits at 172-65-16, good for a .711 winning percentage.

Toros on the Fort Lewis Web: Fort Lewis announcers John Mahoney and Phil Duke will call Saturday's game on www.radiodurango.com.