Monday, September 28, 1998
Leading toward a goal
FEATURE: Senior Larisa Kiremidjian plans
to guide the women’s soccer team
to the NCAA Final Four
By Evan Lovett
Daily Bruin Staff
Larisa Kiremidjian is the elder stateswoman on this year’s UCLA
women’s soccer team. Being one of only three seniors, she is looked
to for leadership, which she willingly provides.
"We have a goal this year, and I will make sure that we do what
it takes to reach that goal," said Kiremidjian.
The goal that Kiremidjian speaks of is to reach the Final Four,
something that a UCLA women’s soccer program has never
accomplished.
First-year head coach Todd Saldana is hoping that Kiremidjian’s
leadership and hard work will "rub off"on the other players, as he
anointed her as co-captain at the beginning of summer practice.
"Larisa is a very good player and she works extremely hard,"
said Saldana."She was a natural choice for captain, because of the
respect the other players have for her.
"She works so darn hard, trains hard and is super academically.
She sets a great example for the rest of the team," Saldana
said.
Kiremidjian, in turn, is counting on Saldana to use his
expertise and lead the team to the promised land. She praises his
style of coaching, which is different that of former coach Joy
Fawcett.
"Coach Saldana is more authoritative, more apt to have things
done his way. But he makes us work hard and we love him. He’s
really a great coach," Kiremidjian said.
Saldana’s coaching seems to have paid dividends thus far for the
Bruins, as they were ranked No. 15 nationally in the preseason poll
and have since moved up to No. 12 by virtue of a tournament victory
at USF.
The success of the program coupled with the mix of youth and
experience has sparked a nice camaraderie within the team.
Kiremidjian says that the togetherness is a huge benefit for the
program.
"The freshmen are awesome as it is, but it helps that they can
feed off of some of the veterans out here," she said.
Kiremidjian’s career started with a bang, as she scored a goal
in her first collegiate game against Colgate. Since then, she has
taken off, recording career highs in points, goals and assists last
season.
The expectations for the upcoming season are even higher.
Saldana had planned to use her as a midfielder due to her
experience, but has since moved her back to forward.
"She is just too valuable as a forward. She creates a lot of
chances for herself and for her teammates. She’s very fast and very
powerful," Saldana said.
Saldana also says that he expects her to "double her figures
from last year," which would mean 12 goals and 30 points.
Kiremidjian expects to have more points this year, but
statistics are secondary to her team’s performance.
"My career highlight was when we went to the Elite Eight last
year, and this year we definitely have a shot at the Final Four,"
she said. "I expect to reach that goal."
If the rest of the team follows the lead of Kiremidjian, UCLA
will have the hardest working team in the NCAA. With Saldana at the
helm and Kiremidjian providing the example, this year’s Bruins
should be fully capable of reaching that goal.
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
Senior and co-captain Larisa Kiremidjian hopes to lead her team
to the Final Four, a first for the UCLA women’s soccer team.
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