Monday, September 22, 1997 Talented squad has SOCCER: Led by
Traci Arkenberg, team hopes to return to NCAA Tournament
competition
By Tim Yun
Daily Bruin Contributor
After a disappointing 1996 season the UCLA women’s soccer team
will try to make a run at a Pac-10 title this season.
UCLA head coach Joy Fawcett is extremely optimistic about the
team’s chances of making it into the postseason in 1997.
"I think this is going to be our best year," Fawcett said. "We
have the most talented group what we’ve had since I’ve been
here."
In 1995, the Bruins finished with a 14-4-2 record and played in
the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
In 1996, the team looked to return to the playoffs but fell
short as they finished with a disappointing 11-7-1 record.
"We will look to learn a lot from the games that we played last
year," Fawcett said.
Senior All-American candidate Traci Arkenberg said, "Instead of
trying to forget last season, we look to correct the mistakes that
we made."
The team will certainly have the experience necessary to make
the NCAA tournament. The team is lead by a core group of six
seniors who have played together for their entire collegiate
careers.
"This year we have a lot of seniors returning for us," Fawcett
said. "We have seven returning and out of them, five are going to
start, so we have a lot of experience."
With the combination of the seniors and several experienced
underclassmen, the team has a perfect balance of youth and
experience.
"Instead of having a lot of top players this year, I think we’re
going to have a top team as a whole," assistant coach Paul
Ratcliffe said. "We have a lot of depth this year, more so than in
the years past."
"They (the seniors and underclassmen) all get along really
well," Fawcett said. "There is absolutely no problem with team
chemistry."
The center of the team’s offense will be Arkenberg. Already the
Bruin career leader in total points, goals scored, assists,
game-winning goals, game-winning assists and total shots, she hopes
to enhance her Bruin legacy as she strives for the Pac-10
championship and a berth in the playoffs.
In addition to the individual scoring records, Arkenberg will
try to add to her equally impressive list of awards and honors.
Last season, she was named Pac-10 player of the week (Oct. 1, 1996)
and was named to the NSCAA/Umbro All-Far West first team.
Alongside Arkenberg, juniors Lari Kiremidijan (2 goals, 1
assist), and Liz Willemse (2 goals, 1 assist) will lead the
volatile Bruin offense. Senior Chrissy Whalen and sophomore Anne
Luke will add depth to the forward position.
In the center of the field, senior midfielders Shannon Thomas
and Sarah Miller will anchor the Bruin’s midfield game.
Thomas will try to repeat her performance from last season,
which merited 2nd-team All-Pac-10 honors after earning 1st team
Pac-10 honors in the 1995 season.
Alongside the seniors, junior Louise Lieberman and sophomores
Bree Edwards, Rochelle Ouchi and Beth Thompson will comprise what
is the deepest position on the field for the Bruins.
Perhaps the Bruins’ greatest strength is on the defensive side
of the field.
Seniors Rhi Tanaka, Tiffany Brown and Sarah Connell will all
form a cohesive defensive unit that will try to keep the opponent
out the net.
Tanaka, the best player on the defensive end of the field, will
try to improve on the 1996 season in which she earned spots on the
All-Pac 10 second team and on the NSCAA/Umbro All-Far West second
team.
The team’s last line of defense will be goalkeeper Lindsay Culp.
After an impressive freshman season in which she had 91 saves and
eight shutouts, Culp will use last year’s experience to strengthen
her play this year.
Freshman CiCi Peterson, 1997 California Interscholastic
Federation player of the year, will challenge Culp for that
starting position.
In order to realize their goals of making the playoffs and
eventually the national championship, the Bruins will have to
overcome some major obstacles.
"I think that the Pac-10 competition will be stiff," Fawcett
said. "I think that Stanford, Washington and Cal will be some of
the more tougher teams."
UCLA’s non-conference schedule won’t give the Bruins much of a
break. The team has a major tournament on the east coast, which
will have an effect on their national rankings.
But with the deadly combination of youth, experience and one of
the top coaches in the nation, the Bruins have a legitimate shot at
making their mark and realizing their goal of a national title.