Women S Soccer

When men are outstanding athletes, they have strength, courage, athleticism. When women are outstanding athletes, it's only sex appeal ["Looking Good," July 8]. Shame on you, L.A. Times and Mike Penner. JEAN MOORE, Los Angeles I just can't accept the Women's World Cup as a legitimate sporting event. The players give 100% and don't complain about the refs. They don't talk trash, go on strike or choke their coaches. There are no $100-million contracts or drug problems. What kind of professional sport is that?

Senior Jamie Gardiner scored her 28th career goal to help Southern California College defeat Pacific Christian, 9-0, in a nonconference women's soccer game at Pacific Christian in Fullerton. Gardiner's goal put her in the lead for career goals at the school. She broke the record of Lori Van Herk, who had 27. Van Herk graduated last year. Katie Kelley had two goals to lead the Vanguards (1-1). In another nonconference game: Chapman 2, The Master's 0--Host Chapman scored twice in the second half.

Freshman Dena Lundy scored with six seconds left in overtime to give UC Irvine a 3-3 tie with Pepperdine in a nonconference women's soccer game Wednesday at UCI. UCI's Tracie Manz scored on a header early in the second half and Simone Ferrara added a goal four minutes into overtime to tie the game for the Anteaters (1-0-1). In other nonconference women's soccer: Southern California College 5, Occidental 2--Lori Van Herk scored three goals to lead SCC (2-1).

Start a women's soccer team, they told him. So Al Mistri, who has been the Cal State Fullerton men's soccer coach since that program began in 1981, went to work last month. He put together a schedule for next fall, started recruiting players and figured he'd better order some equipment, too. It was then he learned his first lesson: The differences between coaching men and women starts long before you call your first team meeting.

Jan Hammervold scored five goals, one short of Cal Lutheran's single-match record, to lead the Kingsmen to a 7-2 victory over Occidental on Saturday in a Southern California Intercollegiate Conference men's soccer match at Thousand Oaks. Cal Lutheran (3-8 overall, 3-0 in conference play) outshot the Tigers, 25-8, one day after losing a nonconference match to UC Irvine, 4-0.

With a hat trick Sunday at the Rose Bowl against Mexico, the United States' Mia Hamm would share the all-time scoring record in women's soccer. She would tie Italian Elisabetta Vignotto, who had 107. She played in the '70s and '80s. So, no matter what you've heard, the United States didn't invent women's soccer. We do, however, deserve credit for popularizing it around the world.

As a result of the Western Athletic Conference's merger with the High Country Athletic Conference Wednesday, six San Diego State women's teams will compete in the WAC starting in the fall of 1990, said Linda Keck, SDSU sports information assistant. San Diego State, currently a member of the Big West Conference, has seven women's teams, and all will remain in the Big West this coming school year. Women's soccer, a new program, will not join the WAC. "I'm real excited," said Rudy Suwara, SDSU's volleyball coach.