Thursday, October 30, 1997
UCLA to host tournament pitting East vs. West Coast
SOCCER: No. 10 Bruins to face tough competition in this weekend's Classic
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
The battle of West vs. East will take place this weekend at Spaulding Field.
Men's soccer powerhouse Duke, currently ranked No. 3 in the nation, and the University of Massachusetts Minutemen will travel westward to participate in this weekend's UCLA Soccer Classic. They will face off against Cal State Fullerton and host No. 10 UCLA.
Both the Bruins (13-2) and the Titans (9-7) look forward to seeing how they stack up against the talented East Coast teams. The Blue Devils (13-3) and Minutemen (11-5-1) will make their first and only trip to the West Coast and figure to play an important role in determining the strength of the regions for NCAA playoff seeding.
"They're very important games for us," UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid said. "We view them like we view most games, with the only exception that we are looking at this like a little more of a playoff atmosphere ... For us one of the main things (is) that we have a good comparison for the West, that we have a good comparison for ourselves, and that we get a better (NCAA playoff) seeding."
The power comparisons in these inter-regional games are important, but not quite as important as the playoff caliber experience provided to the teams. Since all four teams still have a chance to reach the playoffs, this will be a good test for the coaches and the players.
"(The tournament) helps us to know where we are at this late in the season," Schmid said. "When teams get ready for the playoffs, the main difference is that they play much better defense. They are much more concentrated. They are much more focused. The ability to break down a defense that is organized is something that every team needs to work on and playing good teams this late allows us to work on that."
Duke comes in as the highest ranked team of the four, but the Blue Devils lost their last match to No. 6 Virginia. The telling statistic from that match is the 50 fouls called in the game. Schmid is quick to point out that the East Coast game is much more physical than the West Coast game.
A comparison in fouls could be made with the UCLA-Fullerton match earlier this month in which the Titans were victorious 3-1. A total of 39 fouls were committed in that game - 11 fewer than in the Duke-Virginia game.
But no matter how the games are played, the matches this weekend should prove to be rather entertaining. Fullerton head coach Al Mistri believes that the UCLA Soccer Classic is easily one of the best soccer tournaments held each year in the United States.
"We are honored to be part of this, first and foremost," Mistri said. "The quality of the play up there is phenomenal and I think we seldom get a chance to play against a team with the caliber of Duke. Clearly for our program and our athletes to see the level that we want to achieve, especially from another region, is of utmost importance."
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Friday's matches:
Duke vs. Fullerton - 5:30 p.m.
University of Massachusettes vs. UCLA - 8 p.m.
Sunday's matches:
UMass vs. Fullerton - 10:30 a.m.
Duke vs. UCLA - 1 p.m.UCLA Bruins (13-2)
ranking: No. 10
season so far:
The Bruins have had solid defense and goaltending this season - they have only allowed nine goals in 15 games. After an upset loss to the University of Alabama, Birmingham, UCLA went on a nine game winning streak. Cal State Fullerton broke the Bruins' 20-game conference winning streak.
player to watch:
Junior forward Seth George (No. 9) leads the team in both goals (11) and points (26). George has had a breakthrough season as a starter, after being known as a "super-sub" last season. The Bruins have yet to lose a game in which George scores a goal.
at the helm:
Coach Sigi Schmid is in his 18th year as coach of the Bruins. He has two NCAA championships ('85, '90) under his belt, and has compiled a record of 296-59-33.
prediction:
The Bruins figure to defeat the Minutemen and then will play the premier match of the weekend in a very tight, physical duel against Duke.
Duke Blue Devils (13-3)
ranking: No. 3
season so far:
The Blue Devils' losses have come at the hands of three top-10 teams - No. 1 Indiana (1-2), No. 10 Maryland (1-2 in OT) and No. 6 Virginia (0-2). Duke has shut out their opponents in more than half of their victories (seven of 13) and figure to be a playoff team when all is said and done.
player to watch:
Junior midfielder Jay Heaps (No. 7) is tied for the team lead with 28 points and has 29 career goals entering this weekend. He was the ACC and Soccer America freshman of the year in 1995 when he scored 15 goals.
at the helm:
John Rennie is in his 19th year as coach of Duke. He has one NCAA championship ('86) - the last year that Duke participated in the UCLA Soccer Classic. His career record at Duke is 273-97-23.
prediction:
The Blue Devils should not have much trouble in downing Fullerton before the big showdown on Sunday against the Bruins.
University of Massachusetts Minutemen (11-5-1)
ranking: unranked
season so far:
The Minutemen have four of their five losses coming from the Atlantic-10. At one point they ranked in the top 25, but a two-game losing streak at the end of September and a three-game losing streak in mid-October placed the Minutemen on the playoff bubble.
player to watch:
Senior forward Mike Butler (No. 6) just became the all-time leading scorer for the Minutemen with two late goals in a game vs. La Salle last weekend. He has 95 career points - including 12 goals this season.
at the helm:
In his seventh year as coach of UMass, Sam Koch has resurrected a team slated for elimination due to budget cuts and has amassed a career record of 79-43-13.
prediction:
UMass will struggle against the Bruins before facing Fullerton on what could be their best chance for a victory this weekend.
CSU Fullerton Titans (9-7)
ranking: unranked
season so far:
The Titans experienced a four-game losing streak from Sept. 19 to Sept. 28 that put a big blemish on their record. But with none of those losses being conference losses, Fullerton bounced back and defeated then-No. 3 UCLA 3-1 before 4,762 fans at home. With a win next weekend at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Fullerton controls its own destiny to reach the playoffs.
player to watch:
Senior forward Sheldon Thomas (No. 8) is a transfer student who scored 17 goals in the 1996 campaign. This season, he once again leads the team with 24 points and is second with eight goals.
at the helm:
Al Mistri is in his 17th year as coach of Fullerton. He reached the Final Four in 1993 for the first time in school history and has compiled a 185-131-28 record during his tenure.
prediction:
Fullerton is the most likely team to lose both games this weekend, due to their inconsistent play. Then again, the Titans could prove everyone wrong and win the event.