Slow starters?
In their weekend shutout wins over Loyola Marymount and
Princeton, the No. 2 Bruins waited until the second half to make
their offensive presence known. Four of their five goals came after
halftime.
The second-half surges may be attributed either to the Bruins
pulling themselves together or to their opposition tiring from the
blistering pace at which UCLA’s athletes can play. After her
team’s Sunday match, Princeton head coach Julie Shackford
said she hasn’t seen the constantly applied, across-the-board
speed that UCLA showed in its 2-0 win from any other team.
Bouncing back
Senior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Stephanie Rigamat
went down in the first half against Princeton with a shin bone
contusion but came back at the start of the second half to score
the game’s only two goals.
“She (Princeton defender) just landed on it, and it was a
little tight,” said a nonchalant Rigamat after the match.
Rigamat took sole possession of the team lead in goals with
numbers seven and eight. Trailing her is fellow senior Mary-Frances
Monroe with six and injured sophomore Lindsay Greco, also with
six.
Team effort
Nineteen of the 26 active Bruins on the roster saw playing time
in Sunday’s match against Princeton. It was the most
participation since UCLA’s 7-0 pounding of Louisville on
Sept. 7, when 25 Bruins got in on the action.
There’s no place like Westwood
The weekend victories extended UCLA’s home winning streak
to 17 games over nearly three years. The last home Bruin loss came
before nearly half the players on the team were seniors in high
school, on Nov. 14, 1998 against BYU.
Around the nation
As the Pac-10 begins play this weekend, other major power
conferences across the country are already in full swing.
“¢bull; The Big East was the site of the weekend’s biggest
upset. Boston College knocked off perennial conference power
Connecticut 2-0 Sunday at home to snap a 13-match losing streak to
the Huskies.
The loss also ended UConn’s streak of 35 consecutive Big
East conference games without a loss.
“¢bull; No. 3 Notre Dame just got by Big East doormat Seton Hall
with a go-ahead goal in the 82nd minute that secured a 2-1 win.
“¢bull; The upset bug bit the Pac-10 as well. Sixth-ranked
California squandered a 3-1 second-half lead and tied unranked San
Francisco 3-3. The Golden Bears were trying to bounce back from a
1-0 loss on Friday night to No. 21 St. Mary’s.
“¢bull; The Bruins remain second in the latest National Soccer
Coaches Association of America poll. They still trail undefeated
North Carolina in every major poll.
Notes compiled by Jeff Agase, Daily Bruin Reporter.