UCLA d. Cal 2-0 UCLA d.
Stanford 1-0
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Staff
With 19 minutes to go in a scoreless, rough-and-tumble game for
the Pac-10 title, four of UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis’
starters were on the bench.
Hoping to avoid overtime on the road, Ellis put senior Staci
Duncan and three others in for the final stretch and saw her senior
forward drive a goal home for a 1-0 UCLA victory over No. 4
Stanford.
“I knew we needed to finish with a surge,” Ellis
said. “I said “˜We’ve got 19 minutes to get it
done,’ and Dunc nodded,” Ellis said. “She was the
one that was affirming.”
Duncan’s affirmation was overwhelming. After heading a
pass from fellow senior Mary-Frances Monroe, UCLA’s second
place all-time goal scorer saw an opening.
“The ball was between the defender and the keeper, and the
keeper was coming out for it,” Duncan said. “I slid in
and just poked it right on in past the keeper.”
Duncan’s goal, along with a 2-0 Friday win at California,
vaulted the No. 3 Bruins to their first conference title in three
years. More importantly, it landed them the third seed and
home-field advantage through the NCAA quarterfinals, which begin at
Drake Stadium this weekend.
The team crowded a room at the Morgan Center Monday to learn its
playoff fate. UCLA will face Cal State Fullerton Friday at 2 p.m.
at Drake Stadium. The Titans (13-6-0) are making their first
playoff appearance, but it won’t be the first time this year
that Ellis and her Bruins see Fullerton.
“At this point, I don’t know much about them, but we
played down at their tournament and we saw them play (fourth seed)
Portland,” Ellis said. “They’re a very athletic
team, and most of their players come from California, so they are
pretty good technically.”
UCLA will face the winner of the match between USC and
Pepperdine, who play at 11 a.m. at Drake Stadium.
Ellis is almost relentless in her denial of looking ahead to
future rounds, but the sailing looks fairly smooth for the Bruins
up until the quarterfinals, where they may face sixth-seeded
Florida.
“If I was forced to look beyond the first game, overall
we’re in a good position to get back to the Final
Four,” Ellis said.
The Bruins’ good position may come from the fact that
Ellis’ team hasn’t lost a home match for three years
and is comfortable with Drake’s large playing field.
Four other Pac-10 teams join the Bruins in the 64-team field,
which expanded from last season’s 48-team bracket. Curiously,
16 first-time teams ““ the exact number of spots by which the
tournament expanded ““ received bids.
Undefeated defending national champion North Carolina nabbed the
No. 1 seed, while Santa Clara, which defeated UCLA 3-0 earlier this
year, has the second seed.
The winners of Friday’s games meet Sunday at 1 p.m. in the
second round at Drake.