Monday, November 17, 1997
Bruins beat Stanford, win third straight MPSF title
M. SOCCER:
Schmid coaches team to his 300th career victory By Vytas
Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
Three hundred down, five to go.
Head coach Sigi Schmid won his 300th career game on Sunday with
a 1-0 decision against a stumbling Stanford squad.
The win gave the No. 2 Bruins (17-2) their third consecutive
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation soccer championship and an
automatic spot in the NCAA playoffs — where five more wins would
give Schmid his third national championship.
"It’s special because it was win No. 300, but it’s also very
special because any time you win a championship it’s unique,"
Schmid said. "There’s years when we didn’t win it, so I’m very
happy."
The game was played tightly on both ends and the physical play
resulted in an early ejection. In the first half, Cardinal
midfielder Eric Vandevelde was red-carded for a hard slide on Bruin
midfielder Ryan Lee.
Schmid himself said that the foul did not look as if it
warranted an ejection, but nevertheless head referee Sonny Singh
left the Cardinal with only 10 men.
But after a scoreless first half, Stanford (13-4-2) came out
firing on all sides. The Cardinal constantly pressured a Bruin
defense that seemed out of sync. Although they were shut out, the
Cardinal actually sent the ball into the goal once. But Corey
Woolfolk’s goal was nullified because of an offside call.
"(The red card) takes a lot out of our offense," said Stanford
head coach Bobby Clark. "Having said that, I thought we looked more
dangerous. We actually created more chances than UCLA in some
ways."
The problem with creating chances is that the team must also
fulfill them. UCLA did so 30 minutes into the second half when
defenseman Carlos Bocanegra was knocked down in the box after Lee’s
toss-in.
Bruin midfielder Pete Vagenas spotted for the penalty kick and
nonchalantly found the back of the net. The goalie dived right and
Vagenas’ shot to the bottom left corner became the only goal.
"The keeper actually guessed the way I was gonna go," Vagenas
said. "But he left so early that he just left the other side open
and it was simple."
UCLA senior goalkeeper Matt Reis recorded his sixth solo shutout
of the season. Citing the Wisconsin national championship run a few
years back in which the Badgers didn’t allow a playoff goal, Reis
believes a shutout streak could not come at a better time.
"It’s real important from now on that we play to zero Â
that we don’t give up any more goals," Reis said. "That’s really
important for us to concentrate on defense and focus on shutting
other teams out."
With a No. 2 ranking in Soccer America, wins over teams like
Saint Louis, Duke and Stanford and the MPSF championship, the
Bruins hope for another game at Spaulding Field.
The NCAA selection committee will choose the seeding for the
playoffs at 2 p.m. today. UCLA hopes against a repeat of last
year’s seeding, when the Bruins had a first-round upset at hostile
Fullerton.
"There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we are the best
team in the West," Vagenas said.
Schmid’s quest for win No. 305 begins now.