Friday, October 24, 1997
A win Sunday would help Bruins on road to play-offs
W. SOCCER: UCLA hopes for victory for chance to get into
postseason play
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
From football to fencing, whenever UCLA lines up against USC,
the game has a special significance because it pits two rival
schools against each other.
But the much anticipated match between the No. 15 UCLA women’s
soccer team (12-2-0, 4-0) and the No. 18 USC Trojans (13-1-1, 4-0)
on Sunday at 2 p.m. in UCLA’s Spaulding Field is more than just an
annual UCLA-USC game.
The game has greater significance than prior years, because
Sunday’s soccer match holds great Pac-10 and playoff
implications.
"It’s probably the biggest game of the season," says UCLA head
coach Joy Fawcett, whose team played and lost to highly ranked BYU
earlier in the season. "It’s becoming as big a game as BYU. It’s
bigger because it’s towards the end of the season. (The playoff
selection committee) looks at how you are doing at the end of the
season. If you are going into the playoffs strong they are more
likely to take you than if you are struggling toward the end. It’s
probably a more important game than BYU."
Since UCLA lost to BYU, a highly ranked team in their region,
they are not assured a spot in the play-offs despite their stellar
record.
If the Bruins end up losing to Southern Cal on Sunday, it would
surely eliminate one road to the playoffs: through a Pac-10
championship. The only other road to the play-offs left would be an
at-large bid, which might be difficult to come by, especially since
UCLA has not beaten any ranked teams.
"I think we still have a good chance of getting (into the
play-offs if we lose)," Fawcett said. "I think both teams have a
good chance of going if we win the rest of our games. But it all
depends how they look at the West region (as a whole)."
Because the West region is not doing as well as a whole, the
playoff committee will be less likely to take as many teams from
the West.
The result of this game will answer a lot of play-off questions
that are currently up in the air.
Fawcett didn’t have to remind her squad of the added importance
of this cross-town rivalry.
"It’s not hard motivating them for this game," Fawcett said.
Just seeing the Trojan blood and mustard should be motivation
enough. Never mind the playoff implications.
Both teams are coming into this game riding the best season in
school history for both universities.
UCLA brings in a 12-2-0 record into the match, the best the
program has had this deep in the season. Southern Cal also brings a
spectacular 13-1-1 record into the match. If played on paper, the
game is a toss-up. Both schools are equally matched in every
statistic category.
UCLA has taken 255 shots in 14 games to give the Bruins a season
total 104 points, which includes 38 goals. USC has taken 291 shots,
posting 133 points, including 46 goals.
Both schools bring a premier scorer to the match. Traci
Arkenberg is UCLA’s most potent player on the offensive side. She
is ranked seventh in the nation in scoring with her 41 points on
the year (17 goals and 7 assists). The Trojans’ Kim Clark will try
to combat the explosive Arkenberg. She has also posted great
scoring numbers on the year.
Sunday’s game in Spaulding Field will mark the first time the
team has played there this season. Because of commitments to other
sports, namely football, Spaulding has been booked for much of the
early soccer season.
The Bruins had been playing their home games at El Camino
College for most of the season. Because it is an off-campus venue
and most of the games were held in the middle of the day, the team
has seen weak fan support. Many students could not make the drive
out to El Camino. The average attendance in El Camino College was a
meager 452 people per game.
Fawcett believes that the venue change will bring more
spectators to the game.
"I expect there to be a lot of people in Spaulding for Sunday’s
game," Fawcett said.