EDWARD LIN Tracey Milburn defends the
ball against Texas A&M earlier this month. The team heads to
Portland today for the NCAA semifinals.
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Contributor
Forget Donnie, Joey, Danny, Jordan and Jon. The Bruins are the
real new kids on the block.
The sixth-seeded UCLA women’s soccer team begins its
first-ever College Cup today at Spartan Stadium in San Jose in a
7:30 p.m. semifinal match against unseeded Portland.
In the first semifinal of the day, two of the most storied
programs in the nation clash, as fifth-seeded North Carolina plays
in its 20th consecutive Final Four against top-ranked and
undefeated Notre Dame.
After a monumental 2-1 upset of third-ranked Clemson in the
quarterfinals last weekend, the Bruins find themselves in truly
uncharted territory: the Final Four. Previously, the farthest they
advanced to was the quarterfinals in 1997, where they were
annihilated by Notre Dame 8-0.
Reactions to the Bruins’ landmark season range from
satisfaction to surprise.
“National championships are the standard around
here,” UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis said.
“That’s some big shoes to fill, but that’s what I
wanted when I applied for this job, to win a national
championship.
“I’m fortunate to get a great group of people.
It’s a good environment to be in.”
Freshman forward Sarah-Gayle Swanson said she always thought the
team had the potential for a Final Four.
“I thought it may take a couple of years, but it’s
been awesome, better than expected,” she said.
Swanson added that prior to the Clemson game, the seniors on the
team came by individually and let her know just what it meant to go
to the Final Four.
Such success really should come as no surprise to a team that
has been both consistent and prolific. The Bruins notched 14
shutouts in 22 games and registered an 8-0-0 home record. In
addition, the squad set new single-season marks for shots, goals,
assists, points, and goals against.
Ellis attributes her team’s evolution into an
upper-echelon program in just eight seasons to the tremendous
resources of California and the building of a foundation by former
coaches Joy Fawcett and Todd Saldaña.
“I think what I want to get across is I’ve come into
a program that has already had two coaches direct it and affect it
in a positive way, and I’m just reaping the benefits of
that,” Ellis said.
“Every resource is here. Southern California and all of
California is a gold mine of recruiting and you can train all year
round. There are so many positives, I thought it was just a matter
of time.”
The time is now for the Bruins, and the opponent is the Portland
Pilots, an unseeded team from the West Coast Conference. The Pilots
advanced to their fifth Final Four by knocking off Pac-10 champion
and second-seeded Washington 1-0 in the third round of the NCAA and
toppling seventh-seeded Penn State 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Portland head coach Clive Charles has been coaching the Pilot
women’s team since 1989. He led the United States men’s
Olympic team to the semifinals in the 2000 Sydney games.
“I have tremendous respect for Clive,” Ellis said.
“I know they’ll be well-coached and tremendous on set
pieces. They play an attractive style of soccer. I think this will
be a really good matchup because we like to play soccer ““
it’s not just a bump-and-run ““ and so do
they.”
The Bruins and Pilots have met only one other time, with UCLA
pulling off a 1-0 upset in the first round of the 1997 NCAA
tournament.
The presence of three national powerhouses in the semifinals is
daunting for the upstart Bruins, but playing in San Jose, hometown
of Staci Duncan and Breana and Krista Boling, should provide a
hometown advantage. Still, the Bruins are trying to keep their
excitement in check.
“I think it will help a lot, especially because a lot of
the girls are from up there, but then again it’ll be just
another game,” senior Tracey Milburn said.
Just another game.
Right. Like this is just another season.