Bears’ Wahl is golden

A shift to the back line hasn’t prevented Newport Harbor High product

Tyson Wahl from remaining at the forefront of the success achieved by

the Cal men’s soccer team.

Wahl, a two-time All-CIF Southern Section Division II center

midfielder who sat out his junior season with the Sailors to train

with the under-17 national team, has started each of the Golden

Bears’ 64 games the last three seasons.

His first two years he played center midfielder, but spent his

junior season at left fullback. He enters Friday’s season opener at

UC Santa Barbara as a catalyst at center back for Cal, which Coach

Kevin Grimes predicts has a chance to field its best team ever.

“He’s probably our most complete player, offensively and

defensively,” Grimes said of the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Wahl, who scored

the game-winning goal in a 2-0 exhibition victory over visiting UC

Davis Saturday. “He’s a great attacking player a great defensive

player, a tremendous leader, and the consummate student-athlete at

Cal. He’s the total package.”

Grimes said he expects Wahl to be selected early in the MLS draft

in February, which would follow Wahl’s December graduation with a

degree in sociology.

But first things first for Wahl, who said his collegiate career

has already flown by way to fast.

“I’ve valued every season, so it’s hard to say one is more

important than the other,” he said. “But when it hits you you’re

leaving in six months, you want to push as hard as you can.”

Grimes allows Wahl the freedom to push the ball into the offensive

zone, where last year’s second-team All-Pac-10 honoree has scored

three goals and collected two assists the last three seasons.

“We let Tyson get forward as much as he can,” Grimes said. “We

like to have him take our restarts and he takes all our free kicks

from the right side.”

A natural lefty, Wahl said he savors being involved so completely

in the Cal game plan. But putting individual pursuits aside, he has

plans of his own for this year’s season.

“The team has been getting better and better and the program has

been getting stronger,” said Wahl, who hopes to help Cal, ranked No.

20 in one preseason poll, make its fifth straight trip to the NCAA

tournament.

Cal is 38-19-7 with Wahl in the lineup, including four NCAA

tournament wins.

Wahl said overcoming perennial power UCLA to win the Pac-10 would

be one of the team’s goals this season, as would a deep NCAA run.

“We’ve set our goals pretty high as a team, but we think they are

realistic goals,” Wahl said. “This is a pretty talented team.”

Wahl’s talents belie his size, Grimes said.

“Most players his size are not as clean on the ball or as sharp

with the ball he is,” Grimes said. “Tyson has the skill level of a

forward, even though he plays in the back. That’s one of the things

that makes him so valuable.”