Tsakiris returns in grand style
A week ago, it was doubtful whether or not senior midfielder
Shaun Tsakiris would even play in last week’s games vs. Santa
Clara and St. Mary’s.
Not only did he play, he was the deciding factor in both
contests. Tsakiris came of the bench to score the game-winning
goals in both games.
He had been nursing a painful back injury sustained in a Sept.
21 game at UC Irvine.
Tsakiris, who also picked up an assist against the Gaels on Scot
Thompson’s game-tying goal, was named Pac-10 Player of the
Week. This is the second time the playmaking midfielder has taken
home this award.
Tennyson up for MAC award
Another two-time Pac-10 Player of the Week, forward McKinley
Tennyson Jr., learned this week that he has been named as a
candidate for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club Player of the
Year Award. The senior leads the Bruins with nine goals this
season.
Tennyson, who is also a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, is
hoping to be the second Bruin in as many years to bring home the
MAC Award. Former Bruin standout Sasha Victorine won the award a
year ago.
Tennyson will face stiff competition for the honor. Other
players vying for the award include Ali Curtis of Duke, Ryan Trout
of Virginia, Ryan Mack and Pat Noonan of Indiana, and Chris Gbandi
and Brent Rahim of UConn.
Along with naming its player of the year candidates, the
Missouri Athletic Club also posts a list of “Players to
Watch,” on which UCLA freshman defender Alex Yi appears.
Team faces new opponent
While on the road in Northern California last week, at least 10
players came down with food poisoning. The team caught the bug
Thursday in Santa Clara.
The rash of illnesses caused head coach Todd Saldaña to
cancel practices on Friday and Saturday. The team’s
sluggishness was apparent Sunday against St. Mary’s as the
Gaels built a 2-1 lead at halftime.
The Bruins were able to rally in the second half, however, and
pull out a 3-2 victory.
Former Bruins lead U.S. to fourth-place finish in Sydney
The U.S. men’s soccer team turned heads with their
impressive fourth-place showing at the Olympics. The upstart
Americans made it into the medal round, losing the bronze medal
game to Chile 2-0.
Former UCLA stars Peter Vagenas (’99), Sasha Victorine
(’99), Brad Friedel (’92), and Frankie Hejduk
(’94) all played on the U.S. squad.
Both Vagenas and Victorine were largely responsible for the
Americans’ quarterfinal victory over Japan. Vagenas scored
the game-tying goal late in regulation, while Victorine converted
the deciding penalty kick that sent the U.S into the
semifinals.
Cameroon won the gold, Spain took the silver, and Chile claimed
the bronze.
UCLA begins Pac-10 play
This weekend’s game on the road against Stanford (No. 4
Soccer America, No. 12 NCSAA) will mark UCLA’s first ever
Pac-10 conference game.
Due to the lack of respect given to the Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Washington, and Oregon State all
left the MPSF and began play in the Pac-10, which is sponsoring
men’s soccer for the first time.
Joining the Pac-10 allows each of the schools to play tougher
schedules. It was thought that the weaker schedules the five
schools were forced to play in the MPSF hurt their chances of
receiving bids in the NCAA Tournament. Case in point was last
year’s Bruin team, which had a No. 3 national ranking, but
was unseeded by the NCAA selection committee and forced to play all
but one tournament game on the road.
Still, the conference winner will have to earn an at-large bid
into the tournament. Automatic bids are only eligible to the
winners of conferences with at least six teams. It is hoped that
the other five Pac-10 schools will consider adding men’s
soccer programs now that the well-respected conference is
sponsoring the sport.
In the first ever Pac-10 game last Sunday, Washington (No. 12
Soccer America) beat Oregon State 1-0 in Seattle.
Notes compiled by Brian Thompson, Daily Bruin Reporter