November 8, 2007

Big West women's soccer coaches' friendship goes beyond the field
JANIS CARR
The Orange County Register

Cal State Fullerton coach Demian Brown knows all the women’s soccer coaches in the Big West. He knows their names, their teams, their coaching styles.

But he knows that Long Beach State coach Mauricio Ingrassia is a fanatic about Argentine soccer. Brown saw his fervor first-hand a few years ago when the two went to an Argentina-Mexico match at the Coliseum.

“We rode a bus there, and I was the only non-Argentine on there. And you could just see his love for his country and soccer,” Brown said.

Conversely, Ingrassia knows that Brown once sported a flat-top 1980s-style hairdo, a la basketball star J.R. Reid. The Titans coach now wears his hair in dreadlocks.

“He’s changed a lot,” Ingrassia said. “You could do a great before and after photos.”

Both have change and yet their love of soccer remains as strong as when the two were teammates at Cal State Fullerton in 1992-93.

Ingrassia was a transfer from San Diego State and Brown was an incoming freshman. Despite their age difference, they became fast friends after working a youth soccer camp.

“I thought he was one of the nicest guys,” Ingrassia said.

When the season started a month later, the two had formed a strong bond that remains. Despite being opposing coaches in the same conference, they talk on the phone or visit each other’s homes routinely.

“For what Mauricio has done at Long Beach State in four years, that has been a measuring stick for me,” said Brown, a first-year coach. “Not necessarily for my team because we’ve had success in the past, but for me individually it’s been a measuring stick.”

Fullerton beat Long Beach in the teams’ lone regular-season game this season and could meet again this weekend in the Big West women’s soccer tournament at Titan Stadium. Fullerton opens against UC Irvine on Friday and Long Beach plays Cal Poly.

HIGH-FLYING OFFENSES

It’s one thing to rank among the conference’s top three scoring teams. It’s another to be Long Beach State.

The 49ers lead the Big West in every major category -- shots, goals, points and assists. UC Irvine is second in points, goals and assists and Fullerton is third in each of those categories.

TURNAROUND COMPLETE

UC Irvine has been to the postseason tournament before, as recently as 2003, so the Anteaters' appearance at Titan Stadium isn’t that remarkable on the outside.

But for those who haven’t shaken last year’s 3-13-1 debacle, the Anteaters’ turnaround, engineered by first-year coach Scott Juniper, is a pleasant surprise. Irvine’s 11 victories this season is the most for the program since 1998.

PLAYERS INFO

Long Beach State junior forward Kim Silos ranks fourth in Big West history with her 23 career assists. She leads the conference this season with 23 points on seven goals and nine assists.

Irvine freshman goalkeeper Danielle de Seriere has nine shutouts, which ties the school record. She also is tied for sixth in the Big West single-season shutout category. Her 0.56 GAA leads the conference.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…?

The No. 3 seeded team has won the postseason tournament and the automatic NCAA berth three times. Cal Poly achieved that feat in 2004, Irvine in 1997 and Fullerton last season.

Fullerton and Cal Poly are the only two schools to win the regular season and tournament titles in the same season. The Titans have won or shared the regular-season title three times in the past four seasons.

FACTS AND FIGURES

The Titans are seeded first above No. 2 Long Beach State because they won the regular-season game.

Fullerton (11-7-1) will play No. 4 UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The 49ers (13-6) play No. 3 Cal Poly (7-9-2) in the 5 p.m. game.

The tournament winner earns the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Tickets are available at the Titans athletic office or on the Internet at www.fullertontitans.com. Prices are $5-$18.

Streaming audio and Big West TV video will be available all three days. Links can be found at www.fullertontitans.com or www.bigwest.org.