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Monday, August 31, 1998

Bruins pick up where they left off

SOCCER: Familiar score, new faces put Bruins back on top after winning national championship

By Moin Salahuddin

Daily Bruin Staff

The 1998 season started as the 1997 one ended for the UCLA men's soccer teaam - with a 2-0 victory.

Of course, the 2-0 win against Cal State Northridge on Aug. 28 pales in comparison to the Bruins' 2-0 victory over Virginia, mainly because the win against the Cavaliers was in the NCAA Championship game.

The defending national champion Bruins appeared lethargic at first in the game against the Matadors, but only for a few minutes. The UCLA squad handily dismantled the Matador defense as Seth George once again came into the spotlight, and a freshman phenom emerged.

"I thought we played well," said UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid. "Obviously, it is early and just the first game. We've been practicing very hard all the way through this game. Considering all the work we've done, we didn't ease down. I was very happy with the enthusiasm with which we played. And I was very happy that we played them to a shutout and ended up scoring two goals.

"I thought we worked hard, but I didn't think we were really sharp, and that's going to come in the upcoming weeks."

The top-ranked team in the United States according to NSCAA/Umbro and Soccer America, the Bruins used their experience, deft touch and innate speed to out-maneuver Northridge to seemingly every ball.

"I think in the first half, we were in awe of the defending national champions," Cal State Northridge coach Marwan Assiad said. "We have two or three freshmen starters, and I think we didn't calm the ball down. So we got a whooping going into halftime."

UCLA scored 34 minutes into the first half, as senior midfielder Tom Poltl lobbed a pass to the offensive-minded George. George cut around an opponent and fired a shot to the top right corner of the goal, barely out of the Matador goalie's reach.

The Bruins led 1-0 in a game where both teams had many opportunities, with neither capitalizing often.

"We brought our best ball handler (Michael Pries) back to midfield in the second half and finally did some damage," Assiad said. "We took a lot of shots on goal at the end of the game, and I know (UCLA) had some subs in there, but we were playing against the Bruins. They're a great team, have a great coach, and are a great, great program. But to have those shots at the end is a good confidence builder."

The second half was much like the first. However, Schmid began to substitute several players into the Bruin line-up, giving the Matadors a better chance at scoring.

"Today we wanted to look at a couple people," Schmid said. "We wanted to look at (newcomers) Sean Walker, Junior Gonzalez, Craig Hart, Adam Cooper and Shaun Tsakiris. Shea Travis and Brandon Kay are still injured, so there are some other people we want to look at so we can make decisions on the traveling squad. I think we've made decisions on about 13 or 14 players so far."

One key addition to this year's squad over the 1997 championship one proved to be Ryan Futagaki, a highly touted freshman out of Fountain Valley.

Futagaki produced immediately, scoring at the end of regulation. His superb footwork and ball-handling skills gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

Futagaki received the ball with only one defender to beat, sped around to his right and then cut back to his left, firing a shot that the goalie could only watch helplessly.

"All I had to do was beat one player, and I found the open net," Futagaki said. "So I just wanted to take the shot. I did and it luckily went off the post."

Futagaki celebrated with a flying karate kick and bowed to his teammates.

"I met most of my expectations for this game," said Futagaki. "My touching was off for the game, but overall, I played well. I expect better from myself in the future."

Both coaches agree that Futagaki's showing in this game was something to be proud of.

"The second goal (scored by Futagaki) ... that was a world class goal," Assiad said. "I enjoyed watching it. But I didn't enjoy getting scored on."

"Obviously, we expect big things from Ryan," Schmid said. "We think he's a very good player. I think he maybe got everybody's appetite whet with that last goal that he scored. That's a great goal, and that's what he's capable of doing.

"He's got a great shot, he's very quick, he's very tenacious, he's got a long throw in and he hits great dead balls. There are a lot of things he does that he can add to a team. He's somebody who's going to get his minutes this year, and hopefully, he'll produce more results like that."

For the Bruins, Futagaki turns out to be one more piece of the puzzle that may lead to another national championship team in 1998.

If the win over Northridge is any indication of future play, look for the Bruins to be playing in Richmond come December.

"Good luck to them," said Assiad. "I think they're a highly respected program, and they always show."

Daily Bruin file photo

Martin Bruno, seen in a game last year, joined the rest of the men's soccer team in a game against Cal State Northridge last Friday. The Bruins won the game by a score of 2-0.

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