When Arron Lujan took over the Carnegie Mellon men's soccer program last season, one of the first things he wanted to do was change the training atmosphere.

He didn't institute any new drills or radical methods. Lujan, who had been an assistant at Princeton, just brought more organization to practices. "More of a professional environment," he said.

At a university that prides itself on producing top-notch career professionals, the professional approach has worked.

Under Lujan's guidance, the Tartans went 15-3-1 overall last season, 5-2 in the University Athletic Association, advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament and beat Calvin, 3-0, in a first-round match before losing to Ohio Wesleyan, 3-0, in the second round.

With eight starters returning from that squad, including UAA co-player of the year Ricky Griffin, what the Tartans have done this season wasn't unexpected.

Carnegie Mellon is 13-1 overall, 4-0 in the UAA and ranked No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The Tartans have won 12 consecutive matches and six of their past seven victories have been shutouts. The other win was 4-1 against New York University.

While Griffin, who is from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., has scored 17 goals and assisted on eight others, the heart and soul of the Tartans is their defense.

"Really, we want to be balanced and put pressure on the other teams with our forwards," Lujan said. "But overall, I'd say our defense has done a good job, especially our back-line players."

Carnegie Mellon uses four defenders in front of goalkeeper Maks Khurgin, who has started every game. They are center backs Jon Hall and Austin Good, and outside backs Max Betzig and Ian Epperson. The Tartans have allowed just seven goals this season, with four coming in a 4-0 loss to Ohio Wesleyan.

Most coaches look to build a strong defense first with the idea being if the opposition doesn't score their team can't lose.

Of course, midfielders Ryan Browne, Jon Simon and John Crawshaw also help on defense. Carnegie Mellon has limited opponents to just 37 shots on goal, while the Tartans have taken 143.

Carnegie Mellon has just three games to play in the regular season, all of them road conference matches. The Tartans are at Case Western Reserve at 5 p.m. today.

Lujan wants to win the UAA title. He also said this is a team that could go much deeper into the NCAA playoffs. The players got an idea of the playoff intensity last year and Lujan believes that will help this season.

"Every game in the playoffs is do or die, and being in that atmosphere was good for us last year," Lujan said. "I think that has made us a better team this season."

The Seton Hill men's cross country team won the school's first West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title Saturday when it placed first at the championship meet hosted by Glenville State. The Griffins finished with 51 points and were paced by freshman Dominic Camasso, who won the race, and Jon Bogert, who was fifth.

The Grove City women's tennis team won its 23rd consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference team title last weekend. The Wolverines finished with 52 points while Westminster was a distant second with 38. Natalie Walten, a junior, won the PAC title at No. 1 singles for Grove City. By winning the PAC crown, Grove City earned an automatic spot in the NCAA Division III tournament in the spring.

The Pitt-Greensburg women's basketball team is No. 1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference preseason rankings. Penn State Altoona is No. 2, followed by Penn State Behrend, Medaille and La Roche. On the men's side, Medaille is No. 1 in the preseason rankings, followed by Penn State Behrend, Pitt-Bradford, Frostburg State and La Roche.

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