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Sullivan Field
For more than a decade, Loyola Marymount University's Sullivan Field has served as an official training site for some of the world's greatest soccer teams, not to mention a frequent practice site for various Major League Soccer teams when visiting Los Angeles to face the LA Galaxy. In addition to hosting the best in the world, Sullivan was a true "advantage" for the Lions in 2002 and 2004 as they set the record for home wins. The Lions were 7-1-2 (.875) at Sullivan Field in 2002, and matched the win total again in 2004 with a 7-2 record. In the eight years under Head Coach Paul Krumpe, the Lions are 42-23-6 when playing on Sullivan Field, the best eight-year home record in school history. Sullivan Field has been a true "advantage" for the women's soccer program since Head Coach Gregg Murphy arrived. The Lions were 9-3-1 (.750) at Sullivan Field in 2004. Since 1997, the Lions have had six or more wins in seven of the last nine seasons, including a 6-0-4 mark in 1998. All-time the Lions are 65-48-15 (.575) at Sullivan Field.
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the world's largest single-sport event, was played over a 31-day span between June 17 and July 17 in nine different venues throughout the United States. Sweden, Italy and Argentina were among the teams that prepared for competition at LMU prior to their final matches. Four years later, LMU once again welcomed soccer teams from many different nations. The field was used as a practice site for the World Cup exhibition Gold Cup Tournament. Most recently, the Lions' home field served as the training facility for the 1999 Women's World Cup held in June and July. LMU was host to Italy and Nigeria as the two teams prepared for the international competition. Prior to the opening of the Home Depot Center this past summer, the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer had been training on Sullivan Field during their offseason. The facility was also the practice site of the South Korean National Team. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, FC Barcelona used LMU's Sullivan Field for training as they prepared to face CD Guadalajara as part of their 2006 United States Tour. Thanks to the relationship with the Rose Bowl, Sullivan Field, received a new playing surface for the start of the 2003 season. The new playing surface was installed at the end of July. The process began in the first part of July when the old playing surface was sprayed and killed. A giant asphalt grinder was brought in to rototill the surface down to eight-inches. After the grass was stripped and removed, the playing surface was leveled out using laser guides for a more even playing area. The sod was then installed from 42-inch wide big rolls that took two days to install the 28,800 square feet of sod.
The grass is Greg Norman 1 (GN-1) and was developed by the Greg Norman Turf Company (GNTC) for use in golf courses, athletic fields and home lawns. GNTC owns the exclusive rights for GN-1 hybrid Bermuda grass, which has been its main product. GN-1 is recognized as a premier golf and athletic field grass used throughout the warm season areas of the United States. A partial list of the facilities that use GN-1 include: Ravens Stadium in Baltimore, Md., Turner Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.; The Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.; TPC at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.; The Bridges at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Miss.; The Forest Country Club, in Ft. Myers, Fla; Royal Poinciana in Naples, Fla.; and Money Hill Plantation in Covington, La. It also was the turf of choice for Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami and XXXV in Tampa, the 1999 World Series and the 2000 Summer Olympic Games at Stadium Australia. The Rose Bowl has also installed GN-1 for its playing surface.
Women's Soccer at Sullivan Field 1993 4 7 0 .364 1994 2 6 2 .250 1995 3 5 1 .375 1996 1 3 1 .250 1997 6 2 0 .750 1998 6 0 4 1.000 1999 7 4 0 .636 2000 6 3 0 .667 2001 3 4 0 .429 2002 7 4 2 .615 2003 6 3 1 .650 2004 9 3 1 .750 2005 5 4 3 .556 Totals 65 48 15 .575 - GO LIONS - Updated: Aug. 30, 2004 |
