Trojans dominate The Beach

By Ana Tintocalis, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

The Long Beach State men's club soccer team faced the USC Trojans Monday afternoon for the first time ever. USC crushed The 49ers 4-1 in a home game on the Athletic Field.

The first half started out fast and fierce as the Trojans hurt the 49ers with their aggressive and high-paced style of play.

The team managed to hold the Trojans scoreless during the first part of the half, but USC's tenacious game caused the LBSU's defense to brake down.

William Watts was the first Trojan to score when he took a free kick from 20 yards in front of LBSU's goal.

But USC did not stop there.

The Trojans continued to dominate the field and scored again when Daniel Berkoh fired a shot into the net after he out-maneuvered LBSU's goalie in a showdown.

The 49ers struggled to come back and managed to set up several scoring situations, but did not capitalize when the opportunities arose.

The frustration was seen on the face of LBSU men's soccer coach Sanjit Toor when he took out several key players of the team during the first half in order to set the players straight.

"It was disgusting," said Toor. "We [the players] didn't do anything we were supposed to do. They just couldn't pass. It was like they had just started to learn how to play soccer."

The team took a further beating in the second half when USC's Eric Steinhoff scored twice.

The first of his goals came when he took a shot from 15 yards out.

Steinhoff burst through the 49ers defensive line again and drilled another shot into the net for his second goal.

Although the 49ers' spirits took a beating, they managed to score their only goal of the game deep into the second half when halfback Jordan Nedeff whipped a shot by USC's goalie.

The 49ers' poor individual skills in the game contributed to the defeat, said Toor.

Although the LBSU men's club soccer team has been league champions for the past several years, it has had an unusually rough 1998-99 season, losing four games and winning only three.

"The team has given up hope," said forward Dan Kolano. "Our hearts are down and we're not working as a team."

The 49ers have only two games left in the season which they hope to win in order to qualify for the National Collegiate Soccer Association West Regionals held in Las Vegas.

The men's club soccer team will be back on the field this Saturday when it battles UC Riverside on the Athletic Field at 10 a.m.