Friday, November 6, 1998
Bruins prepare to battle for soccer-playoff berth
PREVIEW: Even sweep over weekend wouldn’t ensure postseason
bid
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA women’s soccer head coach Todd Saldaña remembers last
year’s collegiate women soccer season very well.
He remembers how the USC women’s soccer team was denied a spot
in the NCAA tournament after finishing the year with a 16-3-1
record, 7-2 in the Pac-10.
And he very much doesn’t want that to happen to his team.
Saldaña’s No. 20 Bruins come into the final weekend of the
regular season with a 15-3-1 record (5-2 in the Pac-10) and Â
like the Trojans of a year ago  are not in control of their
playoff destiny.
As absurd as it may sound, even if UCLA, with its stellar
record, were to beat Arizona (3-10-2, 0-6-1 Pac-10) on Friday night
in Tucson and Arizona State (8-9, 4-3 Pac-10) on Sunday in Tempe,
they would not necessarily be given a berth in the NCAA
tournament.
The only way a team can earn an automatic berth to the playoffs
is to win their conference. At this point, the Bruins are
deadlocked in a four-way tie for the conference lead with
Washington, California and USC.
Conference rules dictate that in the event of a regular season
tie the Pac-10 winner will be selected by the best head-to-head
record against the other tied teams.
Since UCLA has a 1-2 record against these other three teams,
they would need both California and USC, who are 2-1 against the
top teams, to lose a game over the weekend to have any shot at the
conference title and its automatic berth.
Saldaña believes the NCAA committee will select six to
seven at-large teams from West Region to go to the tournament. He
feels that two more wins over the weekend will provide more
evidence to the committee that his team belongs in the group.
Are the Bruins at all worried that they will end up like their
crosstown rivals did last year?
"I think they are concerned," Saldaña said. "But I think
they are still very confident that they’ve had a great season."
Although the Bruins do not have direct control of whether they
will receive the automatic berth or not, they do have control over
their play against the Arizona schools.
The team must sweep to prove to the NCAA committee that they
indeed deserve a spot in the tournament. This task is something
Saldaña feels the team is not afraid of.
"I didn’t see anybody scared when we said that it’s really
important to win these two games this weekend," Saldaña said.
"I don’t think that is something that this team fears. I think they
get excited about challenges. They have shown that for most of the
season."
"This team really enjoys playing together," Saldaña
continued.
"They don’t want to see this be the end of the fun that they’ve
had this year."MARY CIECEK
Karissa Hampton kicks one by flailing USC defenders in a game at
the Coliseum earlier this month.
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