Wednesday, October 16, 1996
WOMEN’S SOCCER:
Continued stellar performance after 10-day break will be needed
against tough competitorsBy Arthur Choung
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s almost like the first half of the schedule for the UCLA
women’s soccer team was just the preseason. It was just a warm-up
for the real season, which starts Friday at Washington.
But before playing their first conference game in over a month,
the Bruins have to play Pepperdine today in Malibu.
The contest versus the Waves marks the first of a stretch of six
games away from home, a road trip that will be instrumental in
determining their post-season fate. Four of those six games are
against conference foes.
A successful road trip will possibly set up a showdown with
Stanford, in which the conference title and an automatic NCAA berth
could be at stake. But before that can happen, the Bruins must take
care of business.
Which means continuing their solid play. UCLA had gone unbeaten
in their last six games, before taking a 10-day break from official
competition.
Whether or not the week off will be beneficial has yet to be
determined.
"Hopefully, we’ll benefit from [the rest]," UCLA head coach Joy
Fawcett said. "We had so many games that they needed time. As long
as they keep the mentality and come out tough, I think we’ll be all
right."
The Bruins open up the second half of the season against a
Pepperdine team that is undefeated at home. Led by Jennifer
Peterson, the Waves are, per game, averaging over two goals, while
giving up one and a half. Obviously, a conservative game plan is
not what Pepperdine has in mind.
But Pepperdine is facing UCLA goalkeeper Lindsay Culp, owner of
five shutouts and an overall goals-against-average of .88. During
UCLA’s unbeaten streak, Culp has allowed only two goals, for a
goals-against-average of .32.
And with Sherice Bartling breaking out with two consecutive
game-winning goals and Pac-10 Player of the Week honors, the Bruins
may have found that elusive second option on offense.
"I think they’re just starting to click as a team,"Fawcett said.
"They’re getting used to playing with each other. They’re starting
to read each other a lot better.
"Just being prepared mentally is the biggest thing, not letting
the travel get in the way," Fawcett continued.
"The problem with travelling is that you never know what the
field is going to be like, or the weather."
Perhaps like all aspiring meteorologists, we’ll just have to
glance out the window and take our best guess. But as usual, we’ll
just have to wait and see how it all plays out.
But for the Bruins, the skies seem to be clearing at just the
right time.
JON FERREY/Daily Bruin
Sherice Bartling recently won Pac 10 Player of the Week
honors.