Nov. 3, 2004
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Just Briefly
The Lions, ranked #24 by the College Soccer News, will wrap up their home schedule by hosting San Francisco and Saint Mary's this weekend. The Dons are sitting in second place in the WCC, and Friday's game will be key in determining the conference champion. If LMU wins both games this weekend, it would clinch its first ever WCC crown. Sunday is LMU's final regular season home game, and before the game the Lions will honor their four seniors- Michael Brewer, Shaun Kalnasy, Matt Kovar and Sean Rhynard. Note: Sunday's game has been moved up one hour to a 12:00pm start.
Scouting San Francisco
The Dons are red hot entering Friday's game. Their overall record is 11-3-1, and they have a 6-2 record in conference games. They sit in second place in the WCC, but have won six straight games, including a 1-0 win over Santa Clara last Friday. USF's last loss was a 2-1 overtime loss to LMU on October 8th, when Sean Rhynard scored the game-winning goal in the extra period. After playing LMU, the Dons travel south to San Diego, and wrap up their schedule by hosting Portland and Gonzaga. USF is led by Aaron Chandler, the conference's leading scorer, who has 10 goals and two assists on the year. Kevin Long scored the game-winning goal last week, and is second on the team with nine points (4 goals, 1 assist). Geremy Uhl has four shutouts on the season in just seven games, and has a 0.71 GAA, and a .808 save percentage.
Scouting Saint Mary's
The Gaels are 3-8-5 on the year, and are 0-6-2 in conference games. SMC handed LMU its only tie in conference play, with a 1-1 deadlock in Moraga on October 10th. SMC held a 1-0 lead for most of the game, but Matt Kovar scored the tying goal in the final minutes, and the game ended in a tie. Derek Youpel is SMC's leading scorer with four goals, and Anthony Butler has three goals. Brian Mason has played most of the minutes in goal, and has a 1.17 GAA, with a .802 save percentage.
Barrera Honored
Freshman Diego Barrera had a career weekend against San Diego, recording three goals in LMU's two wins over the Toreros. For his efforts, the midfielder was named the WCC co-Player of the Week. He was also named by Soccer America and College Soccer News to their Team of the Week. Barrera is the second Lion to be honored by the WCC and Soccer America this season. Matt Kovar was honored after he led the defense to two shutouts over Gonzaga and Portland to open conference play.
Lions Dominate Conference Play
The Lions stand alone at the top of the WCC standings with a 7-1-1 record. Their recent offensive success has been a key reason that they have been so successful. In conference games, LMU is averaging 2.11 goals per game, over half a goal higher than the second place team (San Diego, 1.56 gpg). Freshman Diego Barrera has been hot lately, scoring three goals last weekend, and 10 of his 11 points this year have come in conference games. Armando Melendez and Barrera lead the conference with 10 points in WCC games, and six of the top 16 leaders in points in conference games are Lions. Eight of the top 19 players in assists are Lions, and LMU has four different players with three goals in conference games. Interestingly, only Melendez appears in the top 10 of shots taken in conference games.
A Look Back
The Lions suffered their first conference setback at Gonzaga, but rebounded with a 1-0 win over Portland. On Friday, the Lions allowed a goal in the first half to Gonzaga, and their powerful offense was shut down as the Zags won just their second game in conference play.
On Sunday, the Lions finished on the better side of a 1-0 game. LJ Reinhardt scored his first career goal off of a free kick from Armando Melendez to give LMU a lead in the 11th minute of the game. The defense controlled the Pilots, shutting them out for the rest of the game to win 1-0. The Lions outscored the Pilots 3-0 in the two games in conference play, as LMU shutdown Portland's powerful offense.
Strength of Schedule
The LMU schedule has been one of the toughest in the nation this season. Five of LMU's opponents are ranked in Soccer America's Top 15 this week (New Mexico, Creighton, UCLA, Wake Forest, Santa Clara). The Lions recorded a 4-0 win over then-#2 Santa Clara, and a 0-0 tie against current #2 UCLA.
A Look Ahead
The Lions conclude their regular season schedule by travelling up north to face Santa Clara on Friday, November 12th. If the Lions with both games this weekend, they will clinch the conference title, and the Santa Clara game will only impact NCAA tournament seedings. If LMU does not win both games this weekend, the game could determine the conference champion. The Broncos sit in third place in the conference with a 5-3 record in conference play, and they host Gonzaga and Portland this weekend.
GameTracker
Follow the Lions all season with GameTracker for men's soccer. During any LMU home game you can get the up to the minute score, as well as updated game stats and a play by play. For more information, go to www.LMULions.com.
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.
