Columnist Steve Carp: Barto hosts party as a spectator

Steve Carp

Thursday, Nov. 13, 1997 | 9:07 a.m.

BARRY BARTO is throwing a party this weekend and he admits to being a rather uncomfortable host.

If his UNLV squad was among those participating in the Western Athletic Conference soccer championships at Peter Johann Field, he would feel good about things. It would be even more hectic than it already is, but he could deal with that.

Instead, he's going to be a spectator while four other schools have the run of his house. And that doesn't sit well with him.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get in," he said of the WAC tournament, which will have San Jose State meeting Southern Methodist at 7 p.m. Friday and Fresno State meeting Tulsa at 9 (the title game is noon Sunday). "But three of the four spots weren't decided until the final day, so it wasn't like we were never in it.

"We had our opportunities. But if you don't score, you can't win. And when we needed goals, we didn't get the ball into the net."

Barto can point to late October as the turning point for the Rebels. UNLV was very much alive in the WAC race, having pounded San Diego State 4-0 the previous week. UNLV was hosting San Jose and Fresno, and had the Rebels been able to come away with a couple of wins, all they would have needed was a draw in one of their final three matches to qualify.

Instead, they lost to the Spartans 1-0 and tied the Bulldogs 2-2. Four points became one and the math didn't work in UNLV's favor.

The result was a 5-11-2 record and UNLV's fifth consecutive losing season. For a once proud program that was of national caliber, this is an extremely alarming trend.

You can point to a lack of support and an undersized budget as part of the problem. But Barto said it's all about players. He has a good group, but he's missing a couple of pieces, namely goal-scorers who are a threat to put the ball in the net whenever they touch it.

Sophomore striker Dan Schloss may evolve into that type of player. He had nine goals this year. But many days he found himself either being marked out of the match or never getting the ball when he was open.

"Our chemistry's good. We're more competitive and we have a good nucleus," Barto said. "But if we can get a couple of solid kids, we'll be all right.

"I really think we're close to turning the corner. We scored more goals this year (28) and gave up fewer (36) than last year. We were a better team. The problem is everyone else is getting better, too, so we have to work a little harder."

Barto is in Canada today, hoping he can find that goal-scorer he desperately needs. He'll be back in time for the WAC championships. He is, after all, the host.

"Yeah, it'll be tough to watch," he said. "But when you're the host, you're so busy with things. I don't know how much of it I'll actually get to see."

Barto said there's one thing that can cure that problem.

"If we're in it next year, I'll be able to watch," he said. "Hopefully, we'll be in it."

Then he can be a more congenial host as well.