What was the best moment or event of the San Diego sports year 2010? What was the worst? In terms of end results, only one team brought home a championship for the city of San Diego in 2010, the resurgent San Diego Sockers. In terms of bitter disappointments, 2010 was the year that kept on giving, starting with the Chargers’ loss to the New York Jets in January and continuing through the September collapse of the Padres all the way back through to the Chargers, letting us down over and over again.
For SDSU, 2010 was one of the best years in university sports history. MWC tournament championships in men’s and women’s basketball and a rebirth of the football program, with better things to come. Traditionally the sad sacks of San Diego sports, the Aztecs stand on top of the heap in the year in review…if that’s a good or bad sign for the city, you tell me.
As you proceed through the story below, I invite you to click through the links provided and see how we covered the biggest stories of the year on 619Sports.Net. Without further ado, the year in review, starting with the best five things from the 2010 San Diego sports year (due to length, I’ll post the five worst sports moments in a later post):
5) UCSD baseball, women’s soccer reach the NCAA championship. Two proud programs, two terrific head coaches. We covered them both for you here on 619Sports.Net, but virtually no one else did. Dan O’Brien’s baseball team entered the season with the #1 ranking in Division II and a self-stated quest to return to the College World Series in Cary, North Carolina. It was all or nothing for this group of Tritons in double knits, and the team made it as far as they could possibly go in the season.
UCSD rolled through the regular season with the country’s top ranking but could not host the Western Regional due to the fact there were no lights at Triton Ballpark. Forced to relocate to Compton’s MLB Urban Youth Academy, UCSD acted like it was their home park, edging Cal State Dominguez Hills 4-3 before blasting Hawaii Pacific 9-4 in the regional title game. It was back to the College World Series for the Tritons, and with a deep pitching staff, airtight defense and opportunistic offense, UCSD was ready to do damage. A series of thrilling wins followed: Grant Bauer’s walkoff single in the World Series opener helped the Tritons beat Georgia College & State (we brought you exclusive video of the big hit), and Matt Rossman delivered the pitching performance of a lifetime in UCSD’s next game, going the distance in an eleven inning, 2-1 victory over Central Missouri.
A 6-3 win over Franklin Pierce University later in the week gave UCSD a perfect 3-0 record at the College World Series and a berth in the national championship game. With a couple of days’ rest to let his starting rotation fall back into place, Dan O’Brien’s Tritons looked primed to claim the national championship, but ace Tim Shibuya’s throwing error in the second inning of the title game helped Southern Indiana gain a lead they would not relinquish. The Tritons fought back repeatedly but came up short, and a 6-4 loss ended their season, with the Screaming Eagles claiming the national championship for Division II. It was the end of a stellar career for shortstop Vance Albitz, an All American who continued his baseball dreams over the summer playing for the Lincoln Saltdogs.
The UCSD women’s soccer program had no such visions of championships when the season opened. With only one returning senior on the squad and a number of freshmen being asked to contribute, Brian McManus’ side got off to a 3-2-1 start which dropped them out of the national rankings. Then, behind a team with great chemisty and sparked by a basketball star switching sports, the Tritons went on an unbeaten tear for the rest of the regular season. Annette Ilg, a four year starter on the women’s hoops team, used her one year of eligibility for a second sport to become the surprise striker of the soccer team, leading UCSD with 11 goals. The Tritons’ defense was rock solid, and even a shootout loss in the CCAA tournament couldn’t dampen their resolve. Forced to go on the road for the NCAA playoffs, the Tritons beat San Francisco State and BYU-Hawaii in Hawaii to reach the Sweet 16.
Another trip followed, this time to Austin, Texas, where the Tritons edged Seattle Pacific 1-0 to reach the doorstep of the Final Four. In their way was the host school, St. Edwards, but UCSD got an Ilg goal in the 22nd minute and held off the higher ranked Hilltoppers 1-0 to earn a trip to the Final Four in Louisville, Kentucky. They had to face the #1 team in the country in the national semifinal, and did so in a game marred by snow flurries and freezing cold. Nonetheless, it was Ilg potting her final goal of the season in the 56th minute, and UCSD’s defense holding firm once again for a 1-0 result and a berth in the national final. The championship game ended in disappointing fashion, as Grand Valley State took better advantage of a frozen field to get an early 2-0 lead over UCSD. The Tritons opened up their attack to try and claw back in the game but wound up falling 4-0 in the national championship. Nonetheless, UCSD had an amazing run, worthy of sharing the #5 spot on this list with the baseball program.
4) The San Diego Sockers return, win their 11th indoor championship. If you read 619Sports.Net, you know we are the broadcast home of the San Diego Sockers and as closely tied to the franchise as any media outlet in San Diego. The challenges faced by this franchise in their 3rd restart were significant. First and foremost, the Sockers could no longer try to fill the San Diego Sports Arena, the mistake which doomed the 2nd and 3rd versions of the franchise. Second, the Sockers were part of a young league, the PASL-Pro, which had no cache or history with San Diego sports fans. Playing at the Del Mar Arena with some familiar faces on the team but very little coverage or exposure, the Sockers’ front office knew that without a championship, the hopes of re-igniting the indoor soccer fan base in San Diego would be difficult if not impossible.
With that type of pressure looming over the players and the coaching staff, the Sockers went out and did what they had to do. A 13-3 regular season clinched the best record in the league. The PASL-Pro North American Championships were hosted in Del Mar, and the Sockers emerged victorious with a 6-5 semifinal win over Mexico City. San Diego would need to face the Liga Mexicana champion Guadalajara in the finals, and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. La Raza fought back to make it a tense, one-goal game, but the Sockers were able to hang on for a 9-8 victory and their 11th indoor championship. The Sockers then capped off the “double” by traveling to Louisville and beating the Lightning 11-7 for the U.S. Open Cup championship.
Without those hard-earned championships, the Sockers would have had a very hard time recapturing the imagination of San Diego sports fans. But thanks to a revamped front office (keyed by the hiring of John Kentera as general manager) and a renewed effort to connect with the media and fan base, the Sockers are averaging over 2,000 fans a game in their second year back, and with a 6-2 record, they are back on top of the PASL-Pro’s Western Division. People still ask me all the time, “Are the Sockers back?” but more and more the sports fans of San Diego are coming back to their most successful team.
(Shameless promotion: By the way, if you have yet to sample the product I invite you to come out on Saturday, January 8th when the Sockers take on the Eastern Division-leading Cincinnati Kings at 6:15pm. It should be a terrific game, and the first 250 kids in attendance receive a free soccer ball!)
3) The Padres win 90 games, stay in contention until the season’s final day. No, it didn’t end the way anyone in San Diego wanted (we’ll save September for the five worst moments of the year). But what a ride while it lasted! The San Diego Padres were almost universally picked to bottom out the NL West, including by our itinerant columnist Chris Ello. A 3-6 start only fueled the speculation that 2010 would be the year the Padres traded Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, fired Bud Black, and meandered to a 90 loss season.
Instead, the Padres got hot and found a winning formula. Pitching, defense, speed, and a bloop hit or two would lead to one improbable win after another. By early May, the Padres were in first place and Chainsaw was debating himself as to whether or not they would keep up the pace. In early June, the Padres trailed the Mets 1-0 with two outs in the ninth when David Eckstein singled off Frankie Rodriguez to tie the game. Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam in the 11th to give San Diego an improbable 5-1 win which seemed to typify their tremendous start.
By the All-Star break, the Padres were still in first, but many (including us) were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, general manager Jed Hoyer decided to add to his team at the trade deadline, bringing Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada to San Diego. I wasn’t sure if the trades would help or hurt the Padres, but the early results were strong. A huge series win in San Francisco made it clear the Padres would be sticking around until the end of the race. San Diego kept on winning throughout August, and after beating the Diamondbacks for the seventh straight time at Petco Park, the Padres stood with a 5 1/2 game lead in the NL West and just five weeks left in the season. They would push their advantage to 6 1/2 games and a high-water mark of 27 games over .500 before the roof caved in on the Padres’ pennant hopes. But that’s a story for another day…
Regardless of their finish, the fact that a team picked universally to finish in last place wound up within a hair’s breadth of the NL West title, with their skipper Bud Black winning Manager of the Year, gives the Padres’ magical summer a place in the Top-5 list of San Diego sports moments for 2010.
2) Aztecs basketball shines throughout 2010. Coming into March of this year, both the SDSU men’s and women’s basketball teams were in need of a big-time run. The men knew they needed to at least reach the Mountain West Conference finals in Las Vegas to have a chance at an NCAA at-large berth. The women were in more dire straits: they knew that without a tournament championship, one of the most talented teams in SDSU history would be left on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
In one of the greatest weekends in San Diego sports history (the Sockers were winning their championship simultaneously), SDSU made it happen. The men edged Colorado State in a tense game then followed with a signature victory over 8th ranked New Mexico. Last up, a date with the host team UNLV, which the Aztecs won 55-45 behind a 16-point, 21-rebound performance from Kawhi Leonard. Earning a trip to Providence to take on the 6th seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA tournament, the Aztecs played well but eventually lost 62-59.
Just like the men, Beth Burns’ Aztecs needed a MWC tournament run to even reach the NCAA field. Unlike the men, they had virtually no chance to get in as an at-large.
After a sluggish start in the first round (just like the men), they pulled away from Wyoming 60-51, then trounced BYU 77-47 in the semis. In the final, it took overtime, and a 22 point performance from tourney MVP Quenese Davis, but the Aztecs outlasted Utah 70-60 and punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
It was a ticket to Austin, where SDSU would have to face the host Texas Longhorns in the first round. The Aztecs were the #11 seed, the Longhorns the #6. A crowd of 5,000 in burnt orange greeted Jene Morris and the rest of the Red and Black. It would take something insane to defeat this team in this atmosphere.
Jene Morris is wearing the net SDSU cut down from Austin as the Aztecs prepare to fly back to San Diego (Photo: Beth Burns)
Something like, say knocking in seven of your first eight three pointers? Done. Jene Morris scored 32, and SDSU shocked Texas 74-63 to advance to the second round. If the story had ended there, it would have still been on this Top 5 list. But probably not as high. Facing 3rd seeded West Virginia, the Aztecs marshaled a defensive effort which will lead Beth Burns’ highlight reel for years to come. Morris and Davis both poured it in from inside and out, and the result was a history-making 64-55 win, pushing SDSU into the Sweet Sixteen of a 64-team field for the first time in school history. There, the team’s legs ran out in a loss to Duke, but the longest and strongest tournament run in SDSU basketball history was in the books.
2011 starts with the promise of even more excitement on the men’s side, where a 15-0 record has SDSU ranked 7th in the nation and primed to not only make the NCAA Tournament once again, but to cash in the first tournament win in program history. For Aztecs basketball, 2010 was as good as it has ever been, and the best is yet to come.
1) The SDSU football program wins nine games, beats Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. To reach the top of this list, the Aztecs football program had the biggest mountain to climb. Despite doubling their win total in Brady Hoke’s first season, SDSU still entered the 2010 campaign with little buzz, lukewarm community interest, and a team picked to finish in the middle of the Mountain West. By year’s end, a near-capacity crowd would fill Qualcomm Stadium to watch the Aztecs win their first bowl game since 1961.
Ronnie Hillman developed into a breakout star in the SDSU backfield, the best freshman running back in red and black since Marshall Faulk. With two future NFL wide receivers to throw to, Ryan Lindley came within 100 yards of the Aztecs’ single-season passing record. In Rocky Long’s second year as defensive coordinator, the Aztecs’ 3-3-5 defense started to make big plays and disrupt the opposition, with Miles Burris turning into an impact defender.
Even with a pair of heartbreaking, tainted road defeats to Missouri and BYU, the Aztecs continued to build momentum throughout the season. Wins over Air Force, New Mexico and Colorado State pushed the Aztecs’ record to 7-2. SDSU played TCU as close as anybody in the regular season before succumbing on the road, and they followed with a tough loss to Utah, their only home defeat of the season. Undeterred, the Aztecs pummeled UNLV in the season finale and earned a berth in the hometown Poinsettia Bowl, and a date with the U.S. Naval Academy.
It was a national coming-out party for SDSU football. While rumors swirled through the month of December around the future of Brady Hoke, the Aztecs head coach kept his team focused and prepared to face the Navy triple option. SDSU delivered, with Hillman and Vincent Brown setting Poinsettia Bowl records for rushing and receiving yards respectively. A 35-14 victory put SDSU into the national conversation, a laughing stock no more. Now, every job opening in BCS football involves a mention of Brady Hoke and the Aztecs’ program. As Virginia Slims would say, you’ve come a long way, baby.
(Tomorrow, the five worst moments in San Diego sports for 2010)
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
