Sept. 3, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Briefly
Coming off two very uplifting ties against top-ranked opponents, LMU concludes its season-opening home stand by welcoming two nationally-ranked opponents from the Big West Conference to Sullivan Field. On Friday, LMU goes for its first victory of the year as it hosts #24 Cal Poly. Seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara completes the weekend with a visit on Sunday. Both games are a part of a Lion soccer doubleheader and will be preceded by contests featuring the LMU women's team.

Listen To And Follow The Lions Live On The Web
Loyola Marymount University, in conjunction with Stretch Internet, is proud to present FREE live audio broadcasts over the World Wide Web on www.LMULions.com. Just click on the "Listen" or "Archive" link next to the game of your choice. All broadcasts will be archived within 72 hours of their original airing and will include both the pre-game and post-game shows.
All home games and select away games will be available live on Gametracker through the LMU website. Check www.LMULions.com for all Gametracker live stats information.

Media Guide
The 2008 LMU men's soccer media guide will be available to download soon at www.LMULions.com. This is the only source of copies of the guide.

Coming to a Game?
If you are planning to attend at game at LMU this season, then be sure to reserve your tickets today by ordering online at www.LMULions.com or calling the LMU Ticket Office at (310) 338-LION. The Loyola Marymount University campus is located in Westchester at 1 LMU Drive, approximately four miles north of the Los Angeles International Airport. Visitors must use the main entrance off of Lincoln Blvd. on LMU Drive. Parking for Sullivan Field will be in General Parking Lot A.

Sunday is Team LMU Day
Sunday's match against UC Santa Barbara will be the second of four "Team LMU" days for men's soccer. "Team LMU" was created to generate awareness and excitement for LMU sporting events on campus during game days. Staff and students are encouraged to wear LMU gear on designated "Team LMU" days and to show their school spirit by attending the games.

Last Week Recap: Lions Finish Level at LMU Fall Classic
The 2008 season got off to an unbeaten start as LMU drew both of its opening weekend games against ranked opponents at the LMU Fall Classic. On Friday against #10 New Mexico, the Lions fell behind to a first-half goal but struck back through freshman Logan McDaniel, whose cross from the left eluded all defenders and found the back of the net. Neither team scored the rest of the way as junior Patrick Sampson made four saves in goal.
On Sunday against #8 Saint Louis, LMU needed a win to claim at least a share of the tournament title. Things started well for the Lions when sophomore Sharif Khatib took a pass from freshman Tyler Krumpe at the edge of the area and slotted home for his first career goal at 25:56. Saint Louis equalized in the 57th minute but the Lions pulled back ahead, with freshman Artur Jozkowicz pouncing on a loose ball to put LMU up 2-1 with 10 minutes left. However, Saint Louis had one last comeback in them, scoring with 2:34 remaining to send the game into overtime, where it stayed 2-2. Redshirt freshman Jack McCormack had a fine collegiate debut, stopping five shots.
McDaniel, freshman Roger Downes, and sophomore Rafael Baca were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

About the "LMU Invitational"
Although not technically a tournament, this weekend's play has been referred to by others as the "LMU Invitational" as it features four teams who will be playing common opponents. On Friday, LMU will play Cal Poly while UC Santa Barbara hosts Kentucky in a game that will be broadcast nationally on Fox Soccer Channel. The venues will shift on Sunday, when UCSB comes to LMU and Kentucky will visit Cal Poly.

About Cal Poly (#24 CSN, #39 Top Drawer, RV Soccertimes, NR NSCAA)
For the first time in school history, Cal Poly entered the season ranked in national polls, and, after a 2-0 home victory over Air Force last Friday, the Mustangs remain at 24 in the CSN top-25 while entering the Top Drawer Soccer poll at #39. They are still receiving votes in the SoccerTimes poll. In the victory over Air Force, Wes Feighner and Daniel Cumming supplied the goals in support of a shutout by Eric Branagan-Franco.
Now in his third season as head coach at Cal Poly, Paul Holocher has a career record of 18-12-8. Last season, the Mustangs went 11-4-4, finishing third in the Big West with a record of 6-2-4. They return eight starters and 20 letterwinners.
The Lions are winless in six all-time meetings with the Mustangs, having lost five and tied one. This will be the second straight season in which the teams have met at Sullivan Field, where Cal Poly emerged with a 2-0 win.

About UC Santa Barbara (#7 CSN, #8 Top Drawer, #10 SoccerTimes, #21 NSCAA)
In contention annually for the national title, UC Santa Barbara entered the season ranked in all of the major polls, coming in as high as #7 in the College Soccer News top-25. The Gauchos have maintained that lofty ranking with a 2-1 victory over Air Force last weekend. UCSB held a 28-8 shot advantage and got goals in each half from Chris Pontius, with Bryan Dominguez assisting on both.
Tim Vom Steeg is in his 11th season at UCSB, where he has a record of 131-49-15 and led the Gauchos to the 2006 NCAA Championship. Last year, they went 13-4-4, winning the Big West with a record of 9-1-2. They advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Ohio State, 4-3. UCSB returns 11 letterwinners and six starters.
The Lions and Gauchos have been fairly evenly matched throughout their histories with UCSB holding a slight advantage in the series, 9-7-0. UCSB won the first eight meetings before LMU took the next seven. The teams last met in 2006, with the Gauchos winning 1-0 in Santa Barbara to snap LMU's winning streak. Six of the last seven meetings have finished 1-0 while LMU is 3-2-0 against the Gauchos at Sullivan Field, having won the last three.

Top-Ranked Opponents Await Lions in 2008
There will be no shortage of quality games for LMU in 2008 as the Lions have scheduled nine opponents who appeared in the 2007 postseason and have eight games against teams that were featured in the preseason rankings. Each of their first six games is against a ranked team but the good news is that of the eight games against the top-25, six will be at Sullivan Field. So far, the Lions have performed well, tying both #10 New Mexico and #8 Saint Louis.
LMU is 22-29-6 all-time against ranked foes but has done well recently, defeating at least two top-25 squads each season since 2001. In that time frame, the Lions are 20-20-3 against the top opponents, with 15 of those victories coming at home. Last season, the Lions were a bit of an anomaly, with all three of their victories coming against top-25 opponents as they defeated #17 New Mexico, #7 Harvard, and #23 Gonzaga, with the latter two coming at home.

Young Cubs Coming Through
Head Coach Paul Krumpe started four freshmen in the opener and followed that by trotting out five, almost half the starters, in game two. With that sort of presence, it was inevitable that at least one frosh would get on the scoresheet, which was true as two out of LMU's three goals were scored by newcomers. Logan McDaniel got things started with the season's first goal on Friday against New Mexico. On Sunday, Artur Jozkowicz netted LMU's second in the game against Saint Louis after freshman Tyler Krumpe had supplied the assist on the opener. Add sophomore Sharif Khatib's goal and all three strikes came from players with less than 10 games in the LMU uniform.

Alumni Game Time Changed
Please note that the game time for the annual Alumni Game, scheduled for Saturday, September 13, has changed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Former players wishing to participate should contact the LMU Men's Soccer Office. The event is open and free to the public.