Young Bruins ready to kick start season

Published: Monday, September 28, 1998

Monday, September 28, 1998

PREVIEW: Team loaded with fresh talent hopes for another great season

By Greg Lewis

Daily Bruin Staff

New year. New coach. New players. New enthusiasm.

Last year was undoubtedly the most successful year ever for women's soccer in Westwood. The Bruins went undefeated in conference play, the first Pac-10 team ever to achieve that feat. They also made it further into the playoffs, reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, than any of their predecessors.

This is a new year, however. Gone is last year's leading scorer, team captain and All-Everything Traci Arkenberg. Arkenberg, now an assistant coach with the team, assures that her scoring punch will not be missed.

"Scoring will come easily," said Arkenberg.

Forwards Larisa Kiremidjian, Staci Duncan, Venus James and Tracey Milburn are out to prove Arkenberg right.

Kiremidjian is the steadying force of the team. As the oldest member of the team, Kiremidjian will use her experience at game time and maturity during practice to help make sure the Bruins run smoothly. She can play either the forward or midfield spot, but look for coach Todd Saldana to use Kiremidjian up front most of the time. Her stats have climbed each year, and this year should prove to be a very productive senior year.

Staci Duncan is the perfect complement to her good friend Kiremidjian. Simply put, Duncan is a scorer. Whether creating her own shot, or taking feeds from other, Staci's job is to put the ball in the net. Duncan, the youngest member of the team, looks to follow up midfielder Sommer Hammoud as UCLA's second consecutive Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

"Duncan could be the freshman that will transition best into collegiate soccer," Saldana said. "She possesses speed, power and is an opportunistic goal scorer who creates goals for herself and others."

Venus James is the only Bruin in history other then Arkenberg to take more then fifty shots in a season. James provides the spark off the bench that every team needs. The sophomore is the leading returning scorer for the Bruins with 25 points on nine goals (including three game winning goals) and seven assists. Venus is also a member of the U.S. Under-20 National team.

Tracey Milburn joins the Bruins with three years of eligibility remaining from Pepperdine University.

Milburn received West Coast Conference honorable mention distinction as the second leading scorer on the Wave squad, and she has already proved to be a powerful force with the ball in the center of the field. Milburn's excellent playmaking and passing abilities provide UCLA with yet another scoring threat.

Adding depth to the forward positions are senior Liz Willemse, versatile freshman Courtney Cosso and powerful freshman Sarah Lazaro.

The midfield, the glue that holds the team together, is also extremely talented and deep this year.

"Our midfielders this season possess the playmaking abilities and creativity to generate more goals and assists for us," said Saldana.

Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Sommer Hammoud leads the way for the Bruins. Hammoud is a great playmaker and exhibits poise that is displayed by only the truly special players.

And Second-Team All Pac-10 selection Beth Thompson is a strong defensive presence for the Bruins, freeing up Hammoud to be aggressive in pushing the ball up.

The Bruin freshmen will leave their mark on the 1998 squad, perhaps none more then Breana Boling. Boling brings the entire package to the soccer field. She can pass and shoot just as proficiently as she can shut down an opponent.

Breana, however, is only half of the Bruin Boling contingent. Her twin sister Krista plays right behind her as a defender. Both players were rated as top 25 prospects by Soccer America magazine.

The stars of the midfield may be Hammoud and Thompson, but the talent goes way beyond those two. Junior Bree Edwards is a great defensive stopper at the midfield slot, and junior Rochelle Ouichi looks to step up her offensive contributions to the team.

The catalyst for the midfield could be the speedy Janine Altman. The energetic Altman looks to inject her quickness and deadly accurate crosses onto the field whenever possible.

Senior Louise Lieberman has used her knowledge of the game and great vision to grab more assists then any other Bruin. With so much scoring talent up front, Lieberman should have no problem adding onto her UCLA record 13 assists.

Rookie and 1997 California High School Player of the Lauren Emblem has made a name for herself with her consistent hard work and grit, and should see a fair amount of minutes in the upcoming season. Her versatility is a huge asset off of the bench. Freshmen Megan Quinn, Vanessa Clark and Sarah Morgan provide even more depth to the already strong midfield.

If everything goes as planned, the Bruin defensive line should be extremely tough to break. Leading the way will be junior Skylar Little. Little is one of the most savage competitors Spaulding Field has ever seen. Not afraid to sacrifice anything in order to get the ball, Little will most definitely be the anchor on defense.

Providing an intimidating presence to go along with the relentless Little is sophomore Karissa Hampton. Hampton patrols the middle and uses her dominating physical presence and ball handling skills more than effectively.

Krista Boling should see plenty of playing time as the offensive leader out of the backfield. Boling, an extremely well-rounded player, is just as capable at leading the offensive charge out of the backfield as she is at shutting down her opponent.

Junior Kerry Norris, known for being a battler, and freshmen Bethany Bogart and Courtney Arrigo round out the rest of the Bruin defensive line.

Lindsey Culp is the UCLA's last line of defense. Culp, a junior who has played almost every minute since she arrived on campus, is UCLA's career (28) and season (17) leader in wins. She brings, as Saldana put it, "a quiet intensity to the field."

Assistant coach Arkenberg says that although Lindsey may not be the most vocal goalkeeper, she will always get the job done. Culp plays the complete game at goalkeeper. She is rarely out of position, and dazzles the crowd with quick reflexes and aerial acrobatics on a regular basis.

Playing behind Culp and competing for playing time are sophomore Julie Kapcala and redshirt freshman CiCi Peterson. Kapcala has spent eight years on the Olympic Developmental team and has the aggressiveness, confidence and one-on-one skills to prove it. Peterson also shows good all-around skills and should be fully recovered from a few nagging injuries.

Saldana is only the second UCLA women's head soccer coach ever. Joy Fawcett moved on after the conclusion of last season, but Saldana, no stranger to Westwood, instantly gained respect from his players.

Of Saldana, forward Kiremidjian said, "He makes you want to win. When you play for him, you feel like you can't lose."

Saldana, an assistant in the men's program for six years has been around UCLA soccer on both the men's and women's side for a while. He even had a brief stint as interim head coach when men's head coach Sigi Schmid went to coach the U.S. World Cup team in 1994. Saldana said that his team has what it takes.

"After a few early season tests, our confidence is way up. This year we have so much youth that people might not see us coming. The rest of the Pac-10 is very strong with teams like Southern Cal and Stanford, even the Arizona schools are looking extremely strong. We should sneak up on a few teams this year."

UCLA has the ingredients for a run just as successful, if not more so, as last year. There are, however some question marks. The glaring problem is, of course, the lack of experience. There are only three seniors and four juniors on the entire squad.

Kiremidjian is the only senior in the regular starting line-up, and she is known for leading by example, not with words. There is nobody who has shown that they can fill in the role of field general, guiding the troops through pressure situation, and making sure that nobody loses focus.

On that same note, goalkeeper coach David Vanole is working hard with goalkeeper Culp to help her become more aggressive.

Vanole helped Culp to an outstanding 0.96 goals against average last season, but Culp could help her team even more by becoming more outspoken on the field. Culp's yelling at the defensive corps and firing up the squad prove to benefit the team immeasurably.

The UCLA women's team is in good shape this year. Saldana has instilled a defense based on teamwork that is executed impeccably.

When the defense is clicking, passing lanes for the opponent are non-existent, and it is only a matter of time before the talented forwards can fill the back of the net. The offense is particularly hard to stop because there is no focal point, any one of the players can score.

The most conspicuous aspect of the team is its fantastic enthusiasm. Everybody on the bench wants to get in the game, and everybody on the field is going full-speed. The confidence of the women's team is obvious on and off the field.

The Bruins will settle for nothing less then a Pac-10 Championship, and with an entire season of experience for the talented youngsters, will be tough to beat come NCAA tournament time.

UCLA's Lauren Emblem fights for control of the ball at a game against Nebraska.

CHARLES KUO

Vanessa Clark (right) and the women's soccer team face off against Nebraska. The Bruins won by a final score of 5-1.

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