Soccer gets rematch with Indiana
Bruins look to avenge
previous 2-0 loss, earn
a trip to NCAA finals
By Tim Costner
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Just over a month ago, the UCLA men’s soccer team faced
top-ranked Indiana in a game that could have vaulted the Bruins to
No. 1 in the nation.
The implications were tantalizing for UCLA.
As the top-rated team, the Bruins would have been virtually
assured of the top seed in the West for the NCAA Championships,
which meant that UCLA would have the home-field advantage up until
the Final Four.
As it turned out, UCLA was blanked, 2-0, by the Hoosiers,
beginning a three-game slide that ultimately knocked the Bruins
clear out of the West region and into the South region as the third
seed.
But last Sunday, UCLA finally atoned for its missed opportunity,
eradicating the memory of a three-game skid with a three-game run
in the NCAAs.
Without a doubt, history will become insignificant this Friday
in Davidson, N.C., when UCLA challenges Indiana once again Â
this time for the right to advance to the NCAA Championship match
on Sunday.
"I think we’re looking forward to playing Indiana again," UCLA
head coach Sigi Schmid said. "There’s no team that we’re afraid of
playing. Now it’s just a matter of us putting together our best
game of the season."
The Bruins, however, will be without starting goalkeeper Chris
Snitko and defender Frankie Hejduk, both of whom were sent off in
last Sunday’s game for handball infractions.
Then again, UCLA was without left winger Eddie Lewis in its last
meeting with Indiana, and Hejduk had to play despite a nagging back
injury.
Once again the Bruins will have to juggle their lineup to
compensate for the loss of key players, though Schmid doesn’t
really feel that it should hurt UCLA’s chances.
"We’ve had to do that all year, so if any team’s prepared to do
that, we are," Schmid said of the lineup changes. "I’m confident in
Matt Reis being able to replace Chris Snitko in the game, and I’m
also confident that Adam Frye can do the job of marking back for
Frankie. We’ll probably step Greg Vanney into the midfield as the
starter."
Vanney has scored the last two game-winning goals for the
Bruins, both of which came within the last five minutes of each
game and both of which punctuated come-from-behind victories.
But having to come from behind has been part of the Bruins’
problem this postseason. In each of UCLA’s playoff games, the team
has allowed two goals, and with a relatively inexperienced goalie
taking the field, the pressure is rising.
"It’s my job to be ready in situations like these," said Reis,
who has logged only 273 minutes this season. "I’m anxious to get it
over with, but I’m excited to be playing in front of a national
audience. It’s not so much that I feel ready  I have to be
ready."
That mentality exists among the team as a whole, and it’s a
different mentality than the Bruins had against the Hoosiers
earlier.
"I thought we were in awe of them in the first half," Schmid
said of the Oct. 30 match. "I don’t think we’ll be in awe of them
now. I think the guys know that they can play with them. In the
second half we played them even and maybe had more of the game. I
expect to start Friday’s game like that."
Should UCLA prevail, the team will play either Rutgers or
Virginia for the championship on Sunday.