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Monday, December 1, 1997

Squad keeps head up after losing playoffs to Notre Dame

W. SOCCER: Despite upset, Bruins have Pac-10 titles, UCLA team recognition

By Chris Umpierre

Daily Bruin Contributor

The clock struck midnight for the women's soccer team this weekend as their carriage turned into a pumpkin and their Cinderella-run in the playoffs came to a screeching halt.

After upsetting Portland and Southern Methodist University on the road in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the phenomenal - but unseeded - Bruins (19-3) had nothing left in their bag of tricks as they were manhandled by Notre Dame (23-0-1), 8-0, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I tournament on Saturday.

The overmatched Bruins' 12-game winning streak was snapped by the Irish at Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame moved on to the Final Four with the win and seems to be on a collision course with No. 1 North Carolina for the championship game. The Irish are on a mission for a second NCAA title in three seasons, as they blasted their competition for the third consecutive round of the playoffs.

The Irish held a slim margin, 2-0, over the Bruins at halftime but were able to increase the lead behind Jenny Heft's hat trick. Five other Irish players were able to get on the score sheet as they blitzed UCLA goalie Lindsay Culp, who had come into the match as the No. 11 goalie in the nation with 0.72 goals allowed per game.

The 8-0 defeat is shocking when you take into consideration that the Bruins brought into the game one of the best defenses in the country.

Spearheaded by seniors Tiffany Brown and Rhi Tanaka and sophomore Skylar Little, the Bruins had registered 10 shutouts during the season.

Coming into the game, the once-iron defense had limited UCLA opponents to just 169 shots on goal. But the Irish were able to penetrate the Bruin defense at will on Saturday as they outshot the Bruins, 32-4, the biggest shooting differential this year against UCLA.

But despite the crushing loss, there are plenty of positives the Bruins were able to take away from their brilliant run in the playoffs and successful season.

Despite the loss, this season will undoubtedly go down as the most successful season in UCLA history. The team not only registered a 19-3 record but won the Pac-10 crown with a conference record 9-0 mark and made the longest run in the playoffs in UCLA history. Their longest prior run in the playoffs had been to the first round in 1995.

But more importantly, this year's run in the playoffs might have finally put women's soccer on the map. For years, the program had played second fiddle to the successful men's program.

This year's team has moved the program up in full view for critics. The successful season has opened a lot of eyes to the program.

This can best be seen in their jump in the national polls. Before the loss to the Irish, the Bruins had been ranked No. 12 in the nation by Soccer America, the highest the program has ever been ranked.

Saturday's game ended a collegiate career for seven Bruins. Seniors Shannon Thomas, Sarah Connell, Tiffany Brown, Traci Arkenberg, Sarah Miller, Chrissy Whalen, and Rhi Tanaka played their last game in blue and gold.

It was partly because of the play and leadership of these seven seniors that the Bruins did so well this year. Their loss upon graduation will hurt the team next year as freshmen like Venus James and Sommer Hammoud will have to step up and play greater roles for the squad. This year's successful season brought a lot of accolades to the team as the Bruins swept this season's Pac-10 honors: Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

Traci Arkenberg was selected Pac-10 Player of the Year, her first in her Bruin career. Arkenberg finished the season with an eye-popping 52 points (22 goals, 8 assists), statistics that ranked her No. 8 in the nation in scoring. Saturday concluded Arkenberg's storied Bruin career, and what a career it was. With her 16 school records (virtually every scoring record in UCLA history), Arkenberg will go down as the best woman soccer player in UCLA history. But more important to her is how she was able to help transform the program from a little known team to a nationally ranked contender.

Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors went to Joy Fawcett. Fawcett, in her fifth season as head coach of the Bruins, has also helped transform the team to a national contender. Under Fawcett, the Bruins recorded 19 wins this season, the most in school history.

Sommer Hammoud was selected Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Despite only scoring a goal and 2 assists on the year, Hammoud has made contributions to the team that are not recorded in the box score. As a starting midfielder, Hammoud has been influential in the success of this year's team.

The Bruins were also represented in the first and second teams of the All-Pac-10. Arkenberg was selected First Team All-Pac-10 for the third time in her illustrious Bruin career. Star defenders Tanaka and Thomas were also selected for the first team. Hammoud was selected for the second team.

DERRICK KUDO

Lari Kiremidjian races down the field against Arizona earlier this year.

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