MPSF Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams Named; San Jose State's Lars Lyssand Honored as Player of the Year
November 13, 2001
WOODLAND, Calif. -- Lars Lyssand (Redwood City, Woodside HS), senior forward from SAN JOSE STATE University, has been selected 2001 MOUNTAIN PACIFIC SPORTS FEDERATION Men's Soccer Player of the Year by a vote of MPSF head coaches.
Lyssand, a first-team MPSF All-Mountain Division selection last year, leads the conference in goals scored (12) and total points scored (34), and is second in assists (10). Lyssand leads the Spartans in all offensive categories including three game-winning goals. Currently, Lyssand is ninth on the Spartans' career shot list, sixth in career assists and tenth in assists for a season. In his highly productive four-year career at San Jose State, Lyssand has accumulated 23 goals and 24 assists totalling 70 points.
At Woodside High School, Lyssand was an all-league athlete in three-sports garnering league MVP honors in soccer his senior season with four letters in football, three in soccer and two in baseball during his high school career.
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Former Spartan midfielder Lars Lyssand, right, was drafted by the Major League Soccer San Jose Earthquakes
Same stadium, different team for Lyssand
MLS's San Jose Earthquakes select Spartan midfielder in Superdraft
By Jason Crowe, Daily Staff Writer
February 14, 2002
Lars Lyssand rumbled into the major leagues on Sunday.
The Major League Soccer defending champion San Jose Earthquakes snagged the San Jose State University soccer standout with the 70th and final pick of Sunday's Superdraft.
The Earthquakes also selected Luchi Gonzalez as their first pick, Chris Roner as their second pick, Kevin Sakuda as their third pick, Erik Ozimek as their fourth pick and Aaron Biddle as their fifth pick.
"I was actually kind of surprised," Lyssand said. "I'm really pleased that they saw some potential in me."
Spartan men's soccer coach Gary St. Clair said that Lyssand was the sixth player from the program in five years to be drafted to a major league soccer team.
San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop could not be reached for comment on Lyssand's draft selection.
"Players here know that if they prepare, we can send them onward," St. Clair said.
Lyssand prepared for the draft by participating in several practice camps with the Dallas Burn, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Earthquakes.
He said that attending the camps required him to pay for his own travel and living expenses in order to scrimmage with professional players and showcase his abilities to the major league coaches.
Lyssand is now practicing with the Earthquakes at a training facility in Florida, preparing for the team's final tryout in March. He said the team would select 18 regular players and four developmental players, who must be less than 23 years old.
Lyssand, 23, said that earning a spot on a professional team is much more difficult than making the cut for a college team.
"You just have to play well and hope the coach likes you," Lyssand said. "I feel like a freshman again."
If Lyssand makes the final 2002 Earthquakes team, he will make his home field debut April 6 against the New England Revolution.
"He'll have to make some adjustments to his speed of thought and speed of play," St. Clair said.
Lyssand said that making the transition from collegiate to professional athletics presents new challenges, but he wants to balance his academic career with his newfound soccer career.
Lyssand believes playing in San Jose will allow him to attend classes with only a few interruptions for road games. He said he feels confident that the Earthquakes are willing to work around his school schedule.
Lyssand, a senior, envisions graduating from SJSU in two semesters with a degree in finance.
"I'd like to finish school," Lyssand said. "(But) I want to play soccer as long as I can."
Lyssand was the top scorer on the SJSU men's soccer team with a total of 36 points, including 13 goals and 10 assists in the 2001 season.
Lyssand described his performance and leadership as an important factor in the team's performance.
"It's been a successful team," Lyssand said. "And I've been a big part of it."
St. Clair said that Lyssand was a player with a real sense of flair and an out-of-the-ordinary playing style.
"I would describe his style as unique in three ways," St. Clair said. "He is a left-sided player, he is a strong finisher with his goal-scoring ability and he brings other players into the game with assists."
With a shot-on-goal percentage of .424 and 25 shots on goal, Lyssand's statistics from the 2001 season exceeded the combined .077 shot-on-goal percentage and 14 shots on goal of his three previous seasons.
"I've worked hard over the last three years," Lyssand said. "It was just my time to shine."
Lyssand's performance on the field this season earned him the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Player of the Year award.
Lyssand cited the long gap between the end of the Spartan soccer season in November and the beginning of the draft period in February as a challenging period.
He said that trying to stay in shape at the end of the season was difficult.
"My body was really beat up after the end of the season," Lyssand said.
Lyssand started in every game last season, his fourth with the team. He has started in all but one game out of 80 games played during his career.
Lyssand stated that he did not start a match in the 2000 season due to a penalty. He strategically took the penalty to avoid the possibility of being forced to sit out a playoff game.
He explained that he had already accumulated four yellow cards for various infractions that season; earning a fifth would preclude him from completing the game.
With all of his collegiate yellow cards behind him, Lyssand reviewed his soccer career. He said he enjoyed both playing with old friends like Jorge Martinez and meeting new players.
Lyssand also mentioned that his older brother Johan has been a great role model for him.
"Family has been a big part of my success," Lyssand said.
