Sept. 7, 2004

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Just Briefly
The Loyola Marymount University men's soccer team returns to Southern California this weekend to face New Mexico and American University at the Matador Soccer Invitational, hosted by Cal State Northridge. The Lions will play the Lobos on Friday at 1:00pm, and then face AU on Sunday at 10:00am. Please note that this game time is earlier than the originally published game time of 12:30pm. All games will be held at Matador Soccer Field.

Matador Soccer Invitational Tournament Schedule

Friday, September 10
1:00pm Loyola Marymount vs. New Mexico
4:00pm American vs. Cal State Northridge

Sunday, September 12
10:00am Loyola Marymount vs. American
12:30pm New Mexico vs. Cal State Northridge
* All games played at Matador Soccer Field

The Tournament Field - New Mexico
#19 New Mexico comes into the tournament with a 2-0 record after defeating #13 VCU and Delaware last weekend at the VCU tournament. Junior forward Jeff Rowland was named the College Soccer News Player of the Week for scoring all five of UNM's goals on the weekend, including a hat trick in the 3-2 win over Delaware.

The Tournament Field - American University
AU is 2-1 after winning the defeating Georgetown, 2-1, on Monday to win the D.C. College Cup. The Eagles defeated Howard 2-0 in the first game of the tournament. Shawn Kuykendall leads AU with five points (2 goals, 1 assist), while Sal Cavvacale scored the game-winning goal vs. Georgetown. Thomas Myers has a 0.63 GAA and a .800 save percentage.

The Tournament Field - Cal State Northridge
The Matadors are split a pair of games on the East Coast, defeating Dartmouth 1-0 on Friday before falling to Boston College, 1-0, on Sunday. Gabriel Montoya scored CSUN's game-winner against the Big Green, and Radames Lafaurie has allowed just one goal in 180 minutes.

A Look Back
LMU finished third at the Diadora Challenge, hosted by Creighton University. The Lions tied Southwest Missouri State 2-2 in double OT on Friday night. The Lions opened the game with a 2-0 lead in the 14th minute, but the Bears answered in the 19th minute, and tied it up in the second half. Neither team could score in the two 10-minute overtime periods and the game ended in a tie. Jimmy Burling scored the first LMU goal of the season, and Danny Williams scored the second goal off of an Armando Melendez corner kick.

The Lions suffered a disappointing defeat on Sunday vs. host Creighton, falling 2-1. LMU was able to find the back of the net when Tyler Mehl's shot deflected off of a CU defender, changing the path of the ball and getting by the diving CU keeper. Mehl's goal with 47 seconds remaining in the first half was assisted by Nick Blanco and goalkeeper Robert Flores. After Creighton tied the game in the 60th minute, the Blue Jays got the game winner with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Tony Odorisio headed the ball towards the goal before it was deflected by a Lion defender for the deciding goal. Armando Melendez and Diego Souza were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

A Look Ahead
After the Lions play in the Matador Soccer Invitational, they host #2 UCLA in their first "home" game of the season. The game will be played at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, September 19th at 1:00pm. Both Head Coach Paul Krumpe and Assistant Coach Brian Irvin are UCLA graduates.

European Tour
The Lions finished their preseason European Trip with a 4-1 record. Armando Melendez led the Lions with 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) while freshman Diego Berrera had an impressive trip with two goals and three assists. Diego Souza finished with seven points for LMU (2 goals, 3 assists) and Aneesh Rana scored three goals.

LMU Head Coach Paul Krumpe
Success has become an expected part of the LMU men's soccer program. The reason: Head Coach Paul Krumpe.

Entering his seventh season as a head coach in the collegiate ranks, Krumpe has guided the Lion soccer program into the national spotlight. Under Krumpe's tutelage, the Lions have made three straight appearances to the NCAA College Cup, with the last two squads playing and beating the nation's best.

The 2003 squad finished the season at 12-7-1, earning a top-16 seed in the NCAA College Cup and a first-round bye. That season was a continuation of the 2002 campaign, as they posted a record breaking season under Krumpe. The Lions earned a program-best 15 wins (15-4-2 Overall/4-2-0 WCC) while collecting their first ever postseason win with a 1-0 victory over Cal State Northridge in Round 1 of the tournament. In his last five seasons at LMU, Krumpe and the Lions have collected an impressive 54 wins, the most by any coach in five seasons in LMU soccer history.

Krumpe's eye for recruiting extremely gifted and talented players continues to show year after year. He had three players earn All-American honors, including a pair of NSCAA All-Americans in 2002, Arturo Torres and Andres Murriagui. In addition, in six seasons he has coached 34 players who have earned All-West Coast Conference honors. His guidance off the field is just as evident, coaching the program's first ever Academic All-American in Jeff Kovar (2002).

In addition, Krumpe's ties with the professional ranks has also been impressive. Three former Lions have gone on to play in the MLS, as Torres, Murriagui and Michael Erush have all signed to play with MLS programs.

Krumpe, who helped guide UCLA to the 1997 NCAA Men's Soccer National Championship as an assistant coach, took control of the program at LMU in 1998. After a long and storied career as both a player and an assistant coach with the Bruins, he was announced as LMU's third head coach in as many seasons on April 2, 1998.

Prior to accepting the Lions' head coaching position, Krumpe spent three seasons as an assistant at UCLA. As a major contributor to one of the most successful programs in the nation, he helped guide the Bruins to a record of 56-9-1. During those seasons, UCLA made three NCAA regional appearances and won the 1997 national championship. That squad also featured four players who were selected in the Major League Soccer (MLS) collegiate draft, the most from any university in 1997.