ANNA AVIK UCLA will play USD on Saturday in the first
round of the NCAAs.
By Jim Guthrie
Daily Bruin Contributor
The No. 14 UCLA men’s soccer team (12-6) embarks on the
road to Charlotte starting Saturday in San Diego.
It may not be a BCS bowl race or the journey to the basketball
championship, but in the eyes of the Bruins, this Final Four is the
only one. And they will accept nothing less than a title.
“After a challenging season we are excited about getting
another chance at the title,” said head coach Todd
Saldaña. “We were able to win two tough games in a row.
This group is going into the playoffs with confidence.”
The Bruins will start the 32-team tournament on the road against
the tournament’s No. 4 seed, San Diego.
San Diego (15-1-2) hopes to stall the Bruins with the stellar
attack of sophomore forward Ryan Coiner, who has totaled 17 goals
and 42 points. The San Diego defense is anchored by junior
goalkeeper Justin Neerhoff, who has a 0.63 goals allowed
average.
The Bruins are coming off two big wins over the weekend against
Northern California foes Stanford and Cal. The Bruins were able to
defeat the formerly No. 1 Cardinal for the second time this year on
a McKinley-Tennyson penalty kick in double overtime. Against Cal,
UCLA used two late goals by freshman Cliff McKinley to overcome the
Bears in a comeback victory.
The Bruins are hampered by injuries, however, as freshman
forward Adolfo Gregorio is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s
game. He is joined on the injured list by teammates Scot Thompson
and Ryan Futagaki, who are both out for the season.
The playoff-tested Bruins will also need big play from the
talented core of freshman players who will make their first College
Cup appearance. While most have played at this high-pressure level
before, there is still some anxiety.
“I’m anxious to play,” said freshman Ty
Maurin. “Now I feel we have to make it to the championship.
We need to take it just one game at a time and play as a
team.”
Despite the setbacks and the youth, UCLA enters the postseason
on a high note with the two wins.
Additionally, the team’s playoff expertise should help
immensely. UCLA is entering its 28th year of soccer playoffs, which
has included championships in 1985, 1990 and 1997. The Bruins are
looking beyond last year’s triple-overtime loss to Indiana in
the semifinals.
UCLA holds an all-time record of 45-25 in the playoffs, and also
holds the advantage over San Diego with a 13-2-2 mark. It is also a
case of déjà vu for the Bruins, who beat San Diego in the
first round last year 4-1 on their home turf.
“This is a completely different team than last
year’s,” senior midfielder Shaun Tsakiris said.
“Anybody can win in the playoffs. A bad team can beat you and
a good team can beat you.”