Monday, September 28, 1998
Young Bruins ready to kick start season
PREVIEW: Team loaded with fresh talent hopes for another great
season
By Greg Lewis
Daily Bruin Staff
New year. New coach. New players. New enthusiasm.
Last year was undoubtedly the most successful year ever for
women’s soccer in Westwood. The Bruins went undefeated in
conference play, the first Pac-10 team ever to achieve that feat.
They also made it further into the playoffs, reaching the
quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, than any of their
predecessors.
This is a new year, however. Gone is last year’s leading scorer,
team captain and All-Everything Traci Arkenberg. Arkenberg, now an
assistant coach with the team, assures that her scoring punch will
not be missed.
"Scoring will come easily," said Arkenberg.
Forwards Larisa Kiremidjian, Staci Duncan, Venus James and
Tracey Milburn are out to prove Arkenberg right.
Kiremidjian is the steadying force of the team. As the oldest
member of the team, Kiremidjian will use her experience at game
time and maturity during practice to help make sure the Bruins run
smoothly. She can play either the forward or midfield spot, but
look for coach Todd Saldana to use Kiremidjian up front most of the
time. Her stats have climbed each year, and this year should prove
to be a very productive senior year.
Staci Duncan is the perfect complement to her good friend
Kiremidjian. Simply put, Duncan is a scorer. Whether creating her
own shot, or taking feeds from other, Staci’s job is to put the
ball in the net. Duncan, the youngest member of the team, looks to
follow up midfielder Sommer Hammoud as UCLA’s second consecutive
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.
"Duncan could be the freshman that will transition best into
collegiate soccer," Saldana said. "She possesses speed, power and
is an opportunistic goal scorer who creates goals for herself and
others."
Venus James is the only Bruin in history other then Arkenberg to
take more then fifty shots in a season. James provides the spark
off the bench that every team needs. The sophomore is the leading
returning scorer for the Bruins with 25 points on nine goals
(including three game winning goals) and seven assists. Venus is
also a member of the U.S. Under-20 National team.
Tracey Milburn joins the Bruins with three years of eligibility
remaining from Pepperdine University.
Milburn received West Coast Conference honorable mention
distinction as the second leading scorer on the Wave squad, and she
has already proved to be a powerful force with the ball in the
center of the field. Milburn’s excellent playmaking and passing
abilities provide UCLA with yet another scoring threat.
Adding depth to the forward positions are senior Liz Willemse,
versatile freshman Courtney Cosso and powerful freshman Sarah
Lazaro.
The midfield, the glue that holds the team together, is also
extremely talented and deep this year.
"Our midfielders this season possess the playmaking abilities
and creativity to generate more goals and assists for us," said
Saldana.
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Sommer Hammoud leads the way for the
Bruins. Hammoud is a great playmaker and exhibits poise that is
displayed by only the truly special players.
And Second-Team All Pac-10 selection Beth Thompson is a strong
defensive presence for the Bruins, freeing up Hammoud to be
aggressive in pushing the ball up.
The Bruin freshmen will leave their mark on the 1998 squad,
perhaps none more then Breana Boling. Boling brings the entire
package to the soccer field. She can pass and shoot just as
proficiently as she can shut down an opponent.
Breana, however, is only half of the Bruin Boling contingent.
Her twin sister Krista plays right behind her as a defender. Both
players were rated as top 25 prospects by Soccer America
magazine.
The stars of the midfield may be Hammoud and Thompson, but the
talent goes way beyond those two. Junior Bree Edwards is a great
defensive stopper at the midfield slot, and junior Rochelle Ouichi
looks to step up her offensive contributions to the team.
The catalyst for the midfield could be the speedy Janine Altman.
The energetic Altman looks to inject her quickness and deadly
accurate crosses onto the field whenever possible.
Senior Louise Lieberman has used her knowledge of the game and
great vision to grab more assists then any other Bruin. With so
much scoring talent up front, Lieberman should have no problem
adding onto her UCLA record 13 assists.
Rookie and 1997 California High School Player of the Lauren
Emblem has made a name for herself with her consistent hard work
and grit, and should see a fair amount of minutes in the upcoming
season. Her versatility is a huge asset off of the bench. Freshmen
Megan Quinn, Vanessa Clark and Sarah Morgan provide even more depth
to the already strong midfield.
If everything goes as planned, the Bruin defensive line should
be extremely tough to break. Leading the way will be junior Skylar
Little. Little is one of the most savage competitors Spaulding
Field has ever seen. Not afraid to sacrifice anything in order to
get the ball, Little will most definitely be the anchor on
defense.
Providing an intimidating presence to go along with the
relentless Little is sophomore Karissa Hampton. Hampton patrols the
middle and uses her dominating physical presence and ball handling
skills more than effectively.
Krista Boling should see plenty of playing time as the offensive
leader out of the backfield. Boling, an extremely well-rounded
player, is just as capable at leading the offensive charge out of
the backfield as she is at shutting down her opponent.
Junior Kerry Norris, known for being a battler, and freshmen
Bethany Bogart and Courtney Arrigo round out the rest of the Bruin
defensive line.
Lindsey Culp is the UCLA’s last line of defense. Culp, a junior
who has played almost every minute since she arrived on campus, is
UCLA’s career (28) and season (17) leader in wins. She brings, as
Saldana put it, "a quiet intensity to the field."
Assistant coach Arkenberg says that although Lindsey may not be
the most vocal goalkeeper, she will always get the job done. Culp
plays the complete game at goalkeeper. She is rarely out of
position, and dazzles the crowd with quick reflexes and aerial
acrobatics on a regular basis.
Playing behind Culp and competing for playing time are sophomore
Julie Kapcala and redshirt freshman CiCi Peterson. Kapcala has
spent eight years on the Olympic Developmental team and has the
aggressiveness, confidence and one-on-one skills to prove it.
Peterson also shows good all-around skills and should be fully
recovered from a few nagging injuries.
Saldana is only the second UCLA women’s head soccer coach ever.
Joy Fawcett moved on after the conclusion of last season, but
Saldana, no stranger to Westwood, instantly gained respect from his
players.
Of Saldana, forward Kiremidjian said, "He makes you want to win.
When you play for him, you feel like you can’t lose."
Saldana, an assistant in the men’s program for six years has
been around UCLA soccer on both the men’s and women’s side for a
while. He even had a brief stint as interim head coach when men’s
head coach Sigi Schmid went to coach the U.S. World Cup team in
1994. Saldana said that his team has what it takes.
"After a few early season tests, our confidence is way up. This
year we have so much youth that people might not see us coming. The
rest of the Pac-10 is very strong with teams like Southern Cal and
Stanford, even the Arizona schools are looking extremely strong. We
should sneak up on a few teams this year."
UCLA has the ingredients for a run just as successful, if not
more so, as last year. There are, however some question marks. The
glaring problem is, of course, the lack of experience. There are
only three seniors and four juniors on the entire squad.
Kiremidjian is the only senior in the regular starting line-up,
and she is known for leading by example, not with words. There is
nobody who has shown that they can fill in the role of field
general, guiding the troops through pressure situation, and making
sure that nobody loses focus.
On that same note, goalkeeper coach David Vanole is working hard
with goalkeeper Culp to help her become more aggressive.
Vanole helped Culp to an outstanding 0.96 goals against average
last season, but Culp could help her team even more by becoming
more outspoken on the field. Culp’s yelling at the defensive corps
and firing up the squad prove to benefit the team immeasurably.
The UCLA women’s team is in good shape this year. Saldana has
instilled a defense based on teamwork that is executed
impeccably.
When the defense is clicking, passing lanes for the opponent are
non-existent, and it is only a matter of time before the talented
forwards can fill the back of the net. The offense is particularly
hard to stop because there is no focal point, any one of the
players can score.
The most conspicuous aspect of the team is its fantastic
enthusiasm. Everybody on the bench wants to get in the game, and
everybody on the field is going full-speed. The confidence of the
women’s team is obvious on and off the field.
The Bruins will settle for nothing less then a Pac-10
Championship, and with an entire season of experience for the
talented youngsters, will be tough to beat come NCAA tournament
time.
UCLA’s Lauren Emblem fights for control of the ball at a game
against Nebraska.
CHARLES KUO
Vanessa Clark (right) and the women’s soccer team face off
against Nebraska. The Bruins won by a final score of 5-1.
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