Soccer Beat: New Earthquakes reach back to glorious past

When general manager John Doyle started looking for a coach for the reborn Earthquakes, he turned to a familiar face: his old boss.

Frank Yallop, who led the former Earthquakes franchise to Major League Soccer titles in 2001 and 2003, will return to Northern California as coach of the new Earthquakes. He was officially introduced Tuesday in Santa Clara, where the Earthquakes will play their first season back in 2008.

"I feel like I'm coming full circle," he said in a phone interview. "Not many times do you have the opportunity to go back to a city or team you fell in love with. It's amazing, really."

In exchange for a third-round draft pick, Yallop leaves the Los Angeles Galaxy, which he coached for two seasons and witnessed Beckham-mania first-hand. Although he said superstar David Beckham "was great to work with for the time we had with him," Yallop added, "What's really important to me is coaching. Yes, I left some players down in L.A., but they totally support me and my decision."

Doyle, a former San Jose star, served as Yallop's assistant coach with the old Earthquakes. Team executive vice president David Alioto suggested they hire Yallop as coach when he first approached Doyle about his job.

"That was six, seven months ago," Doyle said. "A lot of this goes back to David Alioto. Frank has had a lot of experience here, a lot of good times. For me, I know I really wanted him."

Yallop said he feels the club now has what it was missing before: Strong local ownership. "We're building this thing from scratch. Now we have a great foundation to build a good franchise, off field as well as on."

Next step: players. A draft will be held later this month. The Earthquakes will pick 13 players, one from each team. Clubs can protect up to 11 players.

Chico State is NCAA-bound

The No. 3 seed in the Far West, Chico State (13-5-2) is headed to the NCAA Division II playoffs in women's soccer and a Friday rematch with No. 6 Cal State Los Angeles (11-5-2). The winner advances to play regional host Seattle (17-3) Saturday.

Judging by their recent history, Chico and Los Angeles could not be more evenly matched. Their regular season ended in a 0-0 tie after one overtime. In Sunday's final in the California College Athletic Association tournament, both teams stayed scoreless through two overtimes. Including the prior meeting, that's 210 minutes with no goals. But in the shootout, the Wildcats earned a 1-0 edge for their first CCAA title.

Forward Melissa Lindsay, a junior out of Rio Americano High School, is Chico's co-leader with Katherine Bagwell in goals scored (seven apiece). To help clinch Chico's CCAA tournament berth, Lindsay scored in victories over UC San Diego and Cal State Dominguez Hills – both NCAA tournament teams – and was named CCAA Player of the Week. Bagwell was named the CCAA Player of the Year.

• On the men's side, No. 3 seed Sonoma State (17-3-1) faces Seattle (15-2-1) in Friday's NCAA D-II opener in Carson. The Seawolves lost 1-0 to Dominguez Hills in the CCAA final, ending a 17-game winning streak. In the CCAA semifinal, Davis' Andrew Bailey – the CCAA men's Player of the Year – broke the Sonoma record with his 43rd career goal as the Seawolves beat Cal State Los Angeles 2-0.

Cougars time

In their home opener at Stockton Arena, the California Cougars host La Raza de Monterrey at 7 p.m. Saturday. Both teams are 0-1.

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• Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 326-5514.