Anteaters lose grip on crown

NORTHRIDGE — The mood of the UC Irvine men’s soccer team Saturday went from despondent to enraged to … wait for it … disappointed, but hopeful.

Needing a win in the regular-season finale to clinch the Big West Conference championship, the Anteaters lost, 1-0, at Big West rival Cal State Northridge Saturday afternoon.

Combined with UCSB’s 4-0 win over visiting UC Riverside Saturday night, the Anteaters (13-4-3, 6-3-1 in conference) were forced to settle for second place in the Big West, behind the defending champion Gauchos.

It was UCSB that defeated UCI in the Big West finale last season to knock the Anteaters from atop the standings to third place. UCI was subsequently denied an at-large berth in the 48-team NCAA College Cup Tournament.

UCI Coach George Kuntz and Northridge head man Terry Davila both said Irvine, which set a school single-season record for wins in 2006, deserves admission into this season’s NCAA tournament. Tournament pairings will be televised live on ESPNEWS Monday, beginning at 1 p.m.

“I think Irvine has done enough to get in,” Davila said after his Matadors completed a season sweep of the Anteaters. “If [the Anteaters] aren’t in, it’s a crime.”

Kuntz, crestfallen not only over the loss, but a controversial red card issued to senior goalie Kenny Shoeni with 15 seconds remaining that will sideline him for the first of any postseason games UCI might play, is also convinced his team’s season did not end Saturday.

“I’m very confident this team should get in [the tournament],” Kuntz said. “I truly believe you can’t overlook our 13 wins, which are quality wins.”

Still, Kuntz said he would have loved to have taken the matter out of the committee’s hands.

“This is one [win], I think we let get away,” Kuntz said after UCI outshot the hosts, 13-8.

But Northridge senior Randy Rossi had the only shot that found the net, scoring in the 59th minute with an assist from Michael Clegg.

Rossi and a UCI defender pursued Clegg’s through ball just inside the box. The Anteater appeared to get to it first, but could not clear it, and Rossi directed it into the upper portion of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

The Matadors (8-6-5, 5-2-3) are now 5-0-1 this season in games in which Rossi scored.

Northridge, which has been to the last four NCAA tournaments, is a serious longshot for an at-large bid.

The Matadors wound up third in the conference standings, one point behind UCI (three points are awarded for a win and one for a tie).

UCI played without senior defensive leader Cameron Dunn (pulled thigh muscle), and Kuntz said Northridge all but took senior forward Brad Evans, the 2005 Big West Player of the Year, out of the game.

Evans managed three shots, one of which was on goal.

Northridge goalie Kevin Guppy also made saves on shots from Anthony Hamilton, Matt Murphy and T.J. Terrazas to post his third shutout this season.

“We’ve got to get better when we have opportunities to win the Big West,” Kuntz said. “We’ve had two years now when we’ve been right there knocking on the door, but we didn’t close the door.”

Schoeni, who set a school record with nine shutouts this season, was penalized for what referee Miguel Chicas deemed an excessive tackle. After sprinting 30 yards from the net to try to beat a Northridge attacker to the ball, Schoeni launched himself into a slide as Northridge’s Sunghyun Kim got to the ball first. Schoeni’s momentum appeared to propel him into Kim, who went down hard, prompting the red card, which carries an automatic one-game suspension.

UCI’s best scoring chance came late in the first half on a free kick by Murphy. But Guppy dived to his left to direct it just wide.