Aug. 23, 2002
In just two seasons, head coach Lev Kirshner has led the San Diego State men's soccer program from a 6-12-1 record in 2000 to within one victory of a regular season conference championship in 2001. Now entering his third season at the helm of the proud program in 2002, Kirshner boasts a talented squad with the potential to restore San Diego State men's soccer to its NCAA Tournament success of the 1980s. Kirshner recently discussed the Aztec program's progress during his tenure and its prospects for the 2002 season.
Question: Now that you're beginning your third season with the Aztecs, how do you rate your team's progress over that time?
Lev Kirshner: The program is getting better and better every year and I think we are ready for our breakout season in 2002 because of the depth that we have in every position. In years past, we've had some very good depth in certain positions, but we were dealing with deficiencies in other areas. We have finally come to a point where we don't feel there is a deficiency anywhere in the program, so now we have a couple of guys in each position that can fight for a starting job. And with that type of positive competition, there is no doubt that we are as strong as we've been since the early nineties.
So far the progress has been positive, it's been in the correct direction and it's been too slow for my patience. But with the situation and the resources that we have, I think that we're actually going in a very good direction in a timely manner. It's encouraging what's going on right now because we've got a great group of kids that understand what's expected of them.
Q: The team finished 6-12-1 in your first season as head coach in 2000, then improved to play several close matches in 2001 and finish 7-9-4 and one win shy of a regular season conference championship. How does the program's improvement relate to the strides your program has made in on-field competitive success and scheduling over the last two years?
A: I think that they all complement one another. When you start stepping up your competition, you need better players, and those better players want better competition. It's one of those things that go hand-in-hand and it has put us in position to now not only play those quality teams but actually beat them. We did that a couple of times last year when we beat [preseason top-10 pick] Brown and [No. 25] Denver. But this season, because we have probably seven top 20-caliber programs on our schedule, we're looking for at least five wins instead of two. Or you might as well put us down for seven wins, because that's obviously the goal.
Q: Aside from the quality depth your team possesses, what is the strength of the 2002 Aztecs?
A: I think the biggest strength of this team is its cohesiveness and the type of people and character that are within the program. And that goes for every level and facet of this program, from support staff to coaching staff, to our best player and to our worst player. Everybody in this program is on the same page and looking to get into the NCAA tournament this year. It's one of those things that everybody talks about, but when you really have the chemistry, you know that you're not just throwing words out there. It's really there with this team and this group of young men is tremendous to work with.
Q: Conversely, what do you see as a possible difficulty for the Aztecs in 2002?
A: Every single player in our program is a good player and they're all going to fight for a job. Honestly, I couldn't tell you a starting line-up right now if I had to. But we've got tremendous depth in this program and there's only about five guys that I know we're starting. I'd rather have nine or 10 returning starters and be filling in with the reserves, but it's a good problem to have.
Q: Although there is uncertainty about the starting 11, what position do you feel most comfortable about in 2002?
A: Our goalkeeping is the position we're currently most proud of, starting with [current assistant coach] Matt Hall being rated in 1998 as one of the top 15 keepers in the country by the adidas Summer League staff, then moving on to Brian Barnes getting first-team all-conference honors as a sophomore in 2000 and then last year Tim Edwards earning first-team all-conference honors when Brian was battling injuries.
So now with Brian coming back healthy as a senior, we're fighting to have a third first-team all-conference keeper in three years. There's no doubt on the goalkeeping side, we're very happy with our starter. But in addition, I've always said that you need at least two good keepers to make one great one. Well, we have four keepers [Barnes, junior Colin Hanke, sophomore Mike Land and freshman Luke Burgess] who could start at other Division I programs across the country. That's going to be difficult because there's only one position in goalkeeping, but it will ensure that these guys train hard and stay sharp every single day. And you're going to see a couple of first-team all-conference keepers following Brian down the road, there's no doubt about it in my mind.
Q: With six NCAA Tournament teams and two other ranked teams from 2001 on this year's slate, what are your thoughts on the 2002 schedule?
A: One of the first things that I wanted to accomplish as head coach was to make our schedule more competitive and play more national contenders than regional opponents. We've hit that goal, but in that same breath was to compete and beat those teams. And although we got started on that last year, it's not enough to get us where we want to be - a national championship contender like we in 1987 as well as six other times. So it is critical now, especially with the RPI, to make sure that we put out a very, very good schedule that allows us the opportunity to play against teams that would be fighting for NCAA bids. From the nationally competitive level, I don't know the last time that we've played a schedule that's as good as this from game one to game 19.