The Long(o) and short of it

Tony Altobelli

Before my column officially begins, let the record show that I was

going to write about this even if the Vanguard University men’s soccer

team would have won on Wednesday. Also, let the record show that the

Lions’ coaches and players did not use the two-hour drive as the reason

why they were eliminated from the NAIA Region II playoffs by Point Loma,

2-0.

With that said, let’s begin.

Have you ever wondered just how someone could invent certain things?

The automobile, the airplane, computers, Twinkies....

Well, here’s another one that just baffles me. It’s the Longo Rating

System to determine playoff seedings for the NAIA men’s soccer playoffs.

I will try, to the best of my ability, try to explain this ridiculous

formula to those daring enough to read on. Please do not operate any

heavy machinery while trying to solve this puzzle.

Well, this Longo person put a point system to every possible two-team

combination, this side of AYSO vs. L.A. Galaxy.

For example, if the Lions were to play, let’s say a NCAA Division I or

II or NAIA Top-25 club, depending on what the score was, they would

receive anywhere from 175 to 650 points.

Factors include whether the game was home or away and by how many the

Lions won or lost by. A 4-0 win at home equals 575 points, while a 4-0

win on the road would be 650 points.

Makes sense so far? Well, here comes the fun part.

Longo, feeling giddy, also put together a section for NCAA Division

III Top-25 and NCAA Division II as well as a section for NAIA and NCAA

Division III that are NOT Top-25.

But wait, there’s more. Longo also broke up the teams into five

different winning percentage classes to further add to the calamity.

For the three or four who are still with me, this means that a major

chunk of points need to be accumulated in those first few games before

Golden State Athletic Conference competition begins. Plus, you are also

at the mercy of how the other teams are doing when it comes to the number

of points you get.

Well, if you’re confused, join the crowd. Let’s break it down by the

two teams.Point Loma played such mighty teams as Patten College, United

States International University and Occidental, while the Lions took on

four CSU schools as well as The Master’s College (the No. 2 seed in these

playoffs) and Pomona Pitzer College.

In GSAC play, the Lions finished runner-up to Azusa Pacific with a

7-1-1 record, while PLNU finished tied for third with a 6-3 mark. The

Lions (10-4-1) had a better winning percentage than the Crusaders

(11-5-1) for the overall record as well.

By the way, Westmont College, the other 6-3 school also got a home

game for the playoff-opener, but we’ll leave them out of this. It’s

confusing enough as it is.

Granted, the Crusaders gave Vanguard its lone GSAC loss, but the Lions

were the only team not to lose to Azusa Pacific (a 2-2 tie) and they also

knocked off Westmont, both NAIA ranked schools.

Despite all of this nonsense, the Longo System awarded Point Loma with

the home-field advantage against the Lions in the first round of the NAIA

Region II playoffs and it paid off to the tune of a 2-0 Crusaders’ win.

“What the system tells me is that the conference standings don’t mean

all that much,” Lions’ Coach Dave McLeish said. “I feel that the

conference standings have to mean something when it all boils down.

Something has to be changed.”

Would it have mattered if the game was played at Vanguard? We’ll never

know. As much as I loved the trip to PLNU and as much as I loved the view

of the ocean and all that stuff, it was a trip that should have never

happened.

I want to know why Longo stopped there. Why not add or subtract points

on how the uniforms look. Or perhaps throw in a level of difficulty

equation on each goal. Two points off a corner kick, three points off a

free kick, etc. Double the points if it’s raining, triple them if it’s

snowing!

Can you feel the sarcasm ooze from this thing? It’s as thick as the

system itself.