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  BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior defender Bethany Bogart prepares for a pass during Friday's exhibition game.

By Jeff Agase

Daily Bruin Reporter

Less than a year ago, Stephanie Rigamat’s goal in the 77th minute of a 1-0 semifinal win over Portland vaulted the UCLA women’s soccer team into the national title game for the first time.

Saturday, at the Fila Classic in Fullerton, the Pilots (18-4-0 in 2000) will have revenge on their mind while the Bruins (19-4-1 in ’00) are out to prove last year was no fluke.

Add to the mix UCLA’s No. 2 ranking and Portland’s No. 3 position in the National Soccer Coaches Association preseason poll, and the match gives both squads an opportunity to make a powerful early-season statement.

“We’ve talked about that all week,” UCLA Head Coach Jillian Ellis said. “We’re going through the preseason and it’s been hard and we’re going to hit the ground running.”

The Pilots lost just three starters from last season’s West Coast Conference Championship team and landed one of college soccer’s most prized recruits in Christine Sinclair, a member of the Canadian national team. Portland also returns Hermann Trophy candidate Lauren Orlandos, a defender, and WCC co-player of the year Erin Misaki, a midfielder.

“They have some great players,” Ellis said. “What Portland’s great at is getting pressure in numbers around the ball and winning games 1-0 or 2-0.”

But the Pilots will have their hands full with the Bruins, who return eight starters from a team that allowed just 10 goals a year ago and shut out opponents 17 times, a school record.

UCLA has added some firepower of its own in the offseason, including transfer midfielder Mary-Frances Monroe and one of the nation’s top freshman recruiting classes. The Bruin sophomore class is also beaming with confidence after last season’s playoff run.

“All of the freshmen (from last season) are more mature now,” UCLA midfielder Sarah-Gayle Swanson said. “We have more experience.”

Last season, the Bruins kicked off the year in a similar tournament against equally daunting Clemson. That time, UCLA lost 1-0, only to return the favor in the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs.

Against Portland, the Bruins seek to leave no early doubters.

“We’ll be ready for them,” Swanson said. “They’re going to be playing for revenge and we just have to bring it.”

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