Tuesday, September 30, 1997
Playoff berth not guaranteed for Bruins
W. SOCCER: After loss to highly ranked Cougars, team must win Pac-10 for guaranteed shot at title
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
As scoring chance after scoring chance sailed away, the UCLA women's soccer team's playoff chances may have also disappeared with those missed opportunities.
In the biggest game of the young season for the UCLA women's soccer team, the BYU Cougars toppled the No. 11 Bruins 3-1 at El Camino College on Monday night. The crucial loss could have implications that may eventually keep the Bruins out of the playoffs in November.
Despite out-shooting the Cougars (9-0) 33-14 and hitting two goal posts, the Bruins (7-2) could not find the net after senior Traci Arkenberg scored in the opening minutes of the game.
"We just couldn't finish our chances," a subdued UCLA head coach Joy Fawcett said. "We were the better team today. They were very thankful to get out of there with a win. We will be working on shooting all week and finishing our chances."
After Arkenberg's goal, BYU scored two unanswered goals, forcing Fawcett to send extra players on the offensive side with 10 minutes left in the game. The Bruins had a plethora of chances to tie the game, but failed to get one past the Cougar goalie.
Fawcett hopes the Bruins will learn from the defeat.
"I think this loss will be good for us," Fawcett said. "It's better to lose at the beginning of the season than later where it can hurt you. Hopefully, it will open up our eyes. You can't just show up and think that your talent will win the game. You have to have some fight in you and, of course, a little luck."
Since BYU is the final ranked team the Bruins play in the regular season, and a highly ranked opponent in their region, the team will be hard pressed to get an at-large bid if the team does not win the Pac-10 conference and the automatic bid to the playoffs.
The fact that the Bruins' region is not doing well as a whole, which means that the playoff committee will be less likely to select many teams from their region, will not help the Bruins playoff dreams either.
"We definitely put pressure on (ourselves) to make the playoffs with this loss," Fawcett said. "I think we have to win all of our remaining 10 games to make the playoffs."
"You don't want to take any chances," Fawcett continued. "That way there's no question. It's easier for them to keep us out if we lose one more time."
Last year, UCLA put their playoff hopes into the hands of the committee and were overlooked for the playoffs despite their 11-7-1 record in a tough region.
The Bruins have 10 winnable games remaining on their schedule. The team doesn't play any ranked teams for the rest of the season.
If the Bruins want to keep their playoff hopes out of the committee's hands, UCLA must win the Pac-10 conference and receive the automatic berth to the playoffs.
If UCLA doesn't come away with the conference crown, the playoff committee will once again be handed a tough decision in November.
Despite the crushing defeat, Fawcett still believes her team will be in the playoffs.
"We still have a very good team, and we still have a good chance for the playoffs," Fawcett said. "Not by any means (are we out of the picture)."
Daily Bruin File Photo
Beth Thompson displays some great defense against Arizona.