"Optimism is easy to find as you approach any season, but after two
weeks we have made good and steady progress. I think the one most
encouraging thing is that we have made daily improvement.
"I think this is the first time we will have had the entire roster
academically eligible for the first match. There still are a few
problems with the freshmen and the NCAA clearing house, the usual stuff,
but those should be resolved by this weekend. And with the exception of
Eugene Brooks' ongoing foot problems and the sprained ankle that Amir
Shafii suffered in the scrimmage on Saturday night, we have everyone
physically ready to go.
"We are significantly tougher defensively, which is something we
have
been trying to remedy the past few years. We brought in some people who
added to our strength there and that's a big plus.
"We are very deep in the midfield. We don't have to go with the same
people all of the time and we now have some options to make changes. We
can now adjust to the situations as they develop on the field.
"At forward we have been experimenting with different combinations
and
trying different things. This is the area where we need to find better
solutions than what we have come up with the past few years. I think
Sean Gallinger, Jani Valtonen and Andrew Sam will the early mainstays
there, but we think Freddie Tapia has looked promising and freshman Ben
Hofstetter will make a significant contribution.
"Our first match is a conference match and we are looking for some
revenge with UC Riverside, since they beat us twice last season. And
then Sunday we face an NCAA Tournament team in Oakland, which we will
get to see against UCLA on Friday. We are as ready as we can be."
