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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2002)
Sports Editor Peter Hockaday peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com Tuesday, Octber 8,2002 -Oregon Daily Emerald Sports Best bet MLB Playoffs: Anaheim at Minnesota 5:20 p.m., FOX UW searches for answers i ne Huskies are soul-searching after Kyle Boiler and California snap a 19-game skid in Seattle Pac 10 Notes Adam Jude Senior Sports Reporter It’s a biological mystery, but somehow the Dawgs of Seattle have shrunk into lit tle puppies, with ears slumped and tails hidden between their legs. Two streaks ended Saturday at Husky Stadium when California mauled Washington, 34-27. With the win, the Golden Bears (4-2 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10 Conference) snapped a 19 game losing streak to the Huskies, dat ing back to 1976, and ended UW’s 17 game home winning streak. “I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that we could lose to Cal while I was at the UW,” Washington guard Elliott Zajac told The Seatde Times. Washington (3-2,0-1), which has been under scrutiny for its lack of running ef fort, netted just 42 rush yards against Cal. Starting tailback Rich Alexis was benched after a second quarter fumble. “We’re going to have to really do some soul-searching about what we are doing here and how we are doing it," UW head ■RnnnssnRi coach Kick Neuheisel said after the game. “We have to get back to being a funda mentally sound football team that can do things that represent a good football team. I don't know why we struggle so.” Washington’s Cody Pickett set a school record with 35 completions, but Gal’s Kyle Boiler stole the spotlight. Despite at tempting just 24 passes, Boiler was named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week for his five-touchdown, 266 yard performance. “I can honestly say that was the best football game I’ve ever played, in high school, college or anything,” said Boiler, who had no interceptions Saturday. Cougars are ‘for real’ While Gal was making history in Seat tle, Washington State and USG had an exciting finish on the other side of the state in Pullman. Thanks to a missed extra point by USG kicker Ryan Killeen, the No. 12 Cougars (5-1, 2-0) were able to tie the game and force an overtime with 1:50 left on a wob bly 35-yard field goal by Drew Dunning. In the extra session, Dunning again out dueled Killeen as the Cougar booted an other 35-yarder to seal the 30-27 victory. Washington State tallied 516 total yards against USG’s top-rated defense. “I didn't think there was any way we were going to get 500 yards of offense on Mark McCambridge Emerald Player-coach Matt Tassos and the Oregon men's soccer team face a season of high expectations. this team,” said Washington State head coach Mike Price, who won his first game against USG in Pullman. "If we can beat this team, we're for real.” Beaver bouncers Quick, jump while you still can — if you haven’t done so already. Two weeks ago, Oregon State was 4-0, and had what seemed to be one of the con ference’s best quarterbacks, a blistering de fense and a ton of national attention. But after the Beavers lost their sec ond straight game Saturday to open conference play, everyone is jumping off the bandwagon. “We just weren't consistent today,” Oregon State quarterback Derek Ander son said after a 43-35 loss to UCLA. “We were fighting our way back every time we got the ball. There is not a lot to be happy about today.” Going deep Six Pac-10 quarterbacks are ranked in the nation’s top 25 in passing effi ciency. And guess who’s at the top of those the list? Gesser? Pickett? Paus? Nope, nope, nope. Arizona State’s An drew Walter — a sophomore — is second in the country in pass efficiency at 169.5. Turn to Pac-10, page 6 Jim Bates Seattle Times (KRT) Washington tailback Rich Alexis was benched in the second quarter of the Huskies' 34-27 loss to California on Satu rday in Seattle. Kicked off The men’s club soccer team will use their poor showing in 2001 as a spark for 2002 Scott Archer Freelance Sports Reporter Ask any men’s club soccer player to explain a disappointing 2001 season, and he’ll probably say two things. Last season was disheartening. Expectations for 2002 are high. It’s no surprise the 2002 men’s club soccer players gave those two examples when asked about how the team would fare in the upcoming fall season. The Ducks had high expectations, goals and dreams coming into the 2001 season. In 2000, the team came in second place in the national tournament, held every year during the last week of November. With anticipation high and expectations even higher, the team came up remarkably short in 2001. The Ducks got second again. Second to last. “We did well in league but not good at nation als,” said senior Matt Tassos, who is the player coach for the team. “Our focus wasn’t there. This year we have that focus and work ethic.” Tassos said the Ducks will need to return to their good play from two years ago in order to be suc cessful in 2002. That means throwing out all the sports rhetoric and proving it on the field. “It looks like we have a pretty good team, and I hope we do well,” senior midfielder Ryan Rose said. How well remains to be seen. Because the squad was one game away from claiming the 2000 na tional championship, hype and hope will surround this year’s team. “Our goal is to more than better last year,” sen ior forward Kenny Otley said. “We have a lot of po tential that we didn’t utilize last year. This year we will play as a team, not as individuals.” Injuries were one reason the Ducks didn’t play up to their potential last season. “We had one player that was shot in the leg four weeks before nationals,” said Tassos, referring to a shooting near Hilyard Street Market in the spring in which one soccer player was injured. Tassos will be coach and player for the second year in a row, bringing experience that should eventually become an asset to the team. “It’s different," Otley said, referring to playing for his peer. “I’m not jealous of Matt’s job.” Problems have arisen in the past with plaver coaches in the Club Sports pro gram. Otlev said players skip mandatory prac tices, expect to get playing time on game day or don’t take their peer coach seriously. “It’s different trying to coach and play,’ Tassos said. “You want to concentrate on your own game but also the team’s game. ‘What needs to be better?’ It’s hard to do one thing, let alone two.” But Tassos seems to be more than up to the job. “I think (the coaching) is handled well,” Rose said. “I’ve seen it cause problems other places, but not here.” And with that, the coaching situation is an after thought for the team. The Ducks have more im portant things to focus on — like winning. “Definitely win league (title) and win nationals, those are two realistic expectations,” Tassos said. Dreams have now turned into expectations for the team. The 2002 national club tourna ment, held Nov. 21-23 in Bakersfield, Calif., will tell the Ducks whether those expectations will become reality. Three home games are scheduled for Oct. 20, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3. All games will be held at the turf field, with kickoff for all three scheduled for 1 p.m. Scott Archer is a freelance writer for the Emerald.
