Top soccer action lands in Temecula

12:30 AM PST on Friday, April 1, 2005
By LYLE SPENCER / The Press-Enterprise

TEMECULA - The CollegeClassic, an early-season soccerfest, begins its two-weekend run on Saturday at the John Blanche Soccer Complex on the northern edge of Temecula with men's teams kicking off the nonstop action.

In its third year, the CollegeClassic has grown from eight teams to 100 last year to about 200 this year, according to organizer Greg Morales.

"With the range of competition," Morales said, "it is shaping up to be one of the best soccer events in the country."

AP photo National Soccer Hall of Fame player Paul Caligiuri will speak at CollegeClassic, an early-season soccerfest.

Fueling the local economy, approximately 1,000 hotel rooms have been reserved for soccer players, coaches and officials. Pechanga Resort & Casino is the hub of activity.

Among the college programs on display this weekend are Top 25 men's powerhouses UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico, Santa Clara, Cal State Northridge and University of San Francisco.

Top women's programs from UCLA, University of San Diego, Pepperdine, New Mexico, Wyoming and UC Santa Barbara will play April 9 and 10.

Also competing are UC Riverside, UC Irvine, the Air Force Academy, Cal State San Bernardino, University of Redlands, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State, San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Cal State Dominguez Hills, which won the Division II championship two years ago.

Premier club talent from Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Canada, and Southern California, will try to leave impressions on college recruiters taking the opportunity to assess prospects in top-flight competition.

Shannon MacMillan

Among the speakers at the event sponsored by adidas and Toyota will be Escondido's Shannon MacMillan, an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion with the U.S. national team, and Cal Poly Pomona head coach and former national team star Paul Caligiuri.

On Saturday, UC Santa Barbara faces New Mexico at noon and is due back at 4 p.m. to play Air Force Academy.

UC Riverside is scheduled twice for Sunday, meeting San Diego at 10:30 a.m. and Loyola Marymount at 2:30 p.m.