Sept. 9, 2003

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Just Briefly

The Lions opened the 2003 LMU Fall Classic weekend falling, 4-1, to No.9 Southern Methodist before rebounding to beat No.7 Creighton, 2-1, in double overtime. Senior Kevin Novak scored both of LMU's goals in the win against the Bluejays, giving him 18 career scores and putting him into a tie for third place with Andres Murriagui on the Lions' all-time goals list. The Lions' lone goal against the Mustangs on Friday was scored by freshman Diego Souza, it was his first career goal as a Lion.

Up Next

LMU travels to Irvine, Calif., this Friday, Sept. 12. The Lions will face-off against the UC Irvine Anteaters at 7 p.m. in Anteater Stadium. LMU then returns home on Sunday, Sept. 12 to host Sacramento State. That game is slated for a 4 p.m. start on the Lions home turf of Sullivan Field.

Novak Saves The Day

Senior midfielder Kevin Novak led the Lions to their win over No.7 Creighton last Sunday with another multi-goal performance. The Huntington Beach native scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals against the Bluejays. The game-winning goal came just in the nick of the time, he headed in a ball with just three seconds remaining in the final overtime period. Novak has netted four of the Lions' six goals on the season, he not only leads the team, but currently stands as the West Coast Conference goals leader as well.

Erush On The Mark Again

Senior defender Michael Erush continues to impress with his remarkable placement of corner kicks. The Van Nuys native notched two more assists on Sunday in the win over Creighton. Both assists came on corner kicks which found teammate Kevin Novak for the scores. The two assists give Erush 12 in his career and pushes him into a tie for fifth with Eric Kim (1999-02) on LMU's all-time assists chart. He is just one assist short of the fourth spot and three shy of making it into the top-three.

Kovar Key To Lions Offense

Junior Matt Kovar moved from defense to the midfield this season and seems to be adjusting just fine. Kovar has been making things happen for the Lions on the offensive end collecting a team leading four assists so far this season. The four assists is also tops in the West Coast Conference. Kovar isn't shy when it comes to attempting to score himself, he leads the Lions in shots taken with 10.

Souza Shows His Stuff

Freshman Diego Souza made his Sullivan Field debut a memorable one. The rookie midfielder kept the Lions from being shutout against No.9 SMU last Friday scoring his first career goal in a Lion uniform. Souza came into the game and went straight to work scoring within 10 seconds of stepping on the field.

2003 LMU Fall Classic Round-Up

With a record of 1-0-1 the Santa Clara Broncos finished the weekend as the 2003 LMU Fall Classic Champions. SMU and the Lions tied for second with records of 1-1-0, while Creighton finished in fourth with an 0-1-1 mark on the weekend. SCU's Ryan Cochrane earned tournament MVP honors. The 2003 LMU Fall Classic All-Tournament team is as follows: Will Weatherly (SCU), Jason Pan (SCU), Matt Upton (SCU), Kellen Gilmore (SCU), Kevin Hudson (SMU), Ramon Nunez (SMU), Mynor Gonzalez (SMU), Matt Kovar (LMU), Kevin Novak (LMU), Bobby Burling (LMU), Guido Leon (CU)

Home Sweet Home

Head Coach Paul Krumpe and the Lions are more than happy about playing at home. Sullivan Field has been good to coach Krumpe, who has compiled a 27-14-4 record on Sullivan Field in his six years at LMU. The Lions excelled with their home field advantage in 2002 finishing with a 7-1-2 record which included a 2-0 shutout of the national champion UCLA Bruins. Krumpe's .659 winning percentage on Sullivan Field is the best ever by any previous coach.

Kudos For Kalnasy

Junior goalkeeper Shaun Kalnasy made his second career start as a Lion last Sunday against No.7 Creighton. Kalnasy, a transfer from Wake Forest, owns a perfect 2-0-0 record and boasts a 0.90 goals against average. He has made 10 saves on the year and ranks sixth in the WCC in GAA.

Lions In The Rankings

The Lions have yet to climb back into the NSCAA/adidas Division I Men's Top Poll despite earning a No.22 preseason ranking in the poll. LMU's come-from-behind win over No.7 Creighton last Sunday though is earning the Lions votes in the College Soccer News and Soccer Times national polls.

LMU Head Coach

Paul Krumpe is in his sixth season at the helm of the LMU men's soccer program and led the Lions to their second-straight invitation to the NCAA College Cup Tournament in 2002. The 1999 WCC Coach of the Year, led the team to its most successful season in program history last year, establishing a new LMU men's soccer record for single-season wins (15-4-2). A 1986 graduate of UCLA, Krumpe came to LMU after spending three-seasons as an assistant with the Bruins. During those seasons, he helped lead UCLA to a record of 56-9-1, three NCAA regional appearances, three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles and a national championship in 1997. As a player for UCLA, Krumpe was a four-year starter (1982-85), co-captain of the 1985 NCAA Championship team and a two-time All-Far West Region selection. He also has extensive international experience, playing in over 40 games with Team USA including the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Recap vs. No.9 SMU (Sept. 5)

LMU dropped a 4-1 decision to No.9 SMU in Game 2 of the 2003 LMU Fall Classic last Friday. Freshman Diego Souza scored the Lions only goal of the day late in the second half. SMU got on the board early when Ugo Ihemelu scored the game's first goal at 14:03 on the clock. Ihemelu took a throw in from the far sideline which deflected off LMU goalkeeper Adam Sthay and dribbled into the net. The Lions matched the Mustangs shot for shot (6-6) in the first half but went into the break with a 1-0 deficit. Coming out of the break, SMU added two more goals going up 3-1 against the Lions. Ryan Latham scored the Mustangs second goal of the game off an assist from J.D. Johnston while Kevin Hudson assisted on SMU's third goal by Duke Hashimoto. LMU avoided the shutout with Souza's goal at 73:12 in the game. Souza had been in the game only 10 seconds before notching his first career goal as a Lion. Junior Matt Kovar picked up his third assist of the year on the play. Four minutes later (77:13) the Mustangs put the game away with their fourth goal of the afternoon scored by Benjamin Jefferson-Dow. Sthay was kept busy in front of the Lion net as he faced 15 shots on the day, he made four saves in the game.

Recap vs. No.7 Creighton (Sept. 7)

The Lions pulled off a 2-1 come from behind, double overtime upset of No.7 Creighton in the final game of the 2003 LMU Fall Classic last Sunday. Senior Kevin Novak had another multi-goal game scoring the game-winner with just three seconds left in the final overtime period. CU got on the board early scoring just two minutes into the game. David Wagenfuhr found the back of the net at the 2:38 mark of the contest off the assist from David Minges. Unfortunately for the Bluejays, it would be their only goal of the game. The Lions, despite taking a 1-0 deficit into the half, were not dismayed. Novak began the come from behind dramatics scoring his first goal at the 74:46 mark off a set play corner kick. Senior Michael Erush and junior Danny Williams each picked up assists on Novak's game-tying goal. With the momentum pendulum swinging their way, Novak and the Lions weren't done yet. The midfielder from Huntington Beach pulled off the heroics one last time scoring the game-winning goal at the 109:57 mark of the game. Novak headed in a ball off the assist from junior Matt Kovar and the corner kick from Erush. Novak leads the Lions with four goals on the year. Both teams battled for position and ball control in a game which saw nine yellow cards issued and a total of 51 fouls called. Creighton outshot LMU, 4-1, in the first half, but the Lions controlled the tempo throughout the game. LMU outshot the Bluejays 10-3 in the second half, and 3-2 in the two overtime periods combined, keeping CU backpeddling and playing defense for most of the contest. The Lions' junior goalkeeper Shaun Kalnasy earned the start against the Bluejays on Sunday. Kalnasy faced nine shots on the day and made three saves improving his record to 2-0-0 on the year. Guido Leon, keeper for the Bluejays, picked up his first loss of the season, dropping his record to 1-1-2.

About The Anteaters

UC Irvine welcomes the Lions with a 2-1-0 overall record and is coming off a 2-0 loss to San Jose State. Sean Iliff and Anthony Vizcarra have each scored a goal for the Anteaters this season. They are the only two goals UCI has tallied so far. Head Coach George Kuntz has compiled a 64-76-23 record in his nine years with the Anteaters. His overall record stands at 124-103-33 over 14 years. Friday's contest marks the 18th meeting between UCI and LMU. The all-time record is 9-7-1 with the Anteaters holding the advantage, but the Lions have been undefeated against them in the last six meetings.

Hornets Hoopla

Sacramento State comes to Sullivan Field with a 2-1-0 overall record and is coming off a 1-0 win over Saint Mary's. Sam Sneed leads the Hornets with one goal and two assists for a total of four points. Patrick Nelle and Kris McAlavey have also netted one goal each for Sac State. Matt McDougall has spent the most time in goal for the Hornets owning a 2-0-0 record and a 0.50 goals against average.

Lions On The Web

Can't make it to a game? Not to worry. Now you can follow all the Lions home games and WCC away games live on the internet! Just log on to www.LMULions.com and catch each goal, assist, save and corner kick through the Lions' live stats programs. It's the next best thing to being there, so don't miss it!!