Monday, September 22, 1997 All the right goals MENS: Depth of
men’s soccer team leaves them in an excellent position to avoid the
heartbreak of the last two seasons
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
Sigi Schmid would be among the first to tell you that nothing
comes easy. Schmid, the UCLA men’s soccer coach since 1980,
suffered a pair of disappointments in the 1995 and 1996 NCAA
Tournaments. Both times a high-powered Bruin team fell short of
expectations — losing in ’95 to Santa Clara in the second round
and then promptly bowing out in ’96 with a first round defeat at
the hands of Cal State Fullerton.
However, with the end of one season comes the preparation for
the next. UCLA, ranked No. 3 in the preseason coaches’ poll, comes
into the 1997 season with more depth and maturity, and a
determination to erase past failures.
"I think (our past playoff defeats) have been more a reflection
of our youth and just running into a bad game," Schmid said. "It is
certainly something we want to change. It is not something we want
to continue."
1996 was a retooling season for the Bruins, who started four
freshmen. That experience paid off – now UCLA has much needed
depth, which the team lacked the previous season.
"The one thing that is maybe unique about this team in
comparison to teams over the past three of four years is that our
depth is significant enough that if we have somebody with a knock
or an injury we can afford to rest them and not have to be overly
concerned about who is going to go out there and replace him,"
Schmid said.
Gone from the 1996 team are defender and captain Tahj Jakins,
who became the No. 1 pick in the Major League Soccer (MLS) draft,
top-goalie Kevin Hartman (now with the Galaxy of the MLS), and
starters Brian Irvin and Caleb Meyer. Fortunately, the addition of
freshmen such as goalie Nick Rimando, defenseman Carlos Bocanegra,
forward McKinley Tennyson Jr. and the healthy return to the lineup
of senior defenseman Josh Keller should offset any losses in
personnel.
"I think we are a talented team," Schmid said. "We’ve got some
youth, we’ve got some veterans, we’ve got some size, we’ve got
speed, we’ve got skill. I think we have a little bit of everything
so that we are able match up with people."
The Bruins will benefit from a quick and balanced offense
throughout the season. Forwards Nick Theslof and Seth George led
the Bruins in scoring last season with 21 and 31 points
respectively. George played most of last year coming off the bench,
starting only 8 of 20 games. This year, he will get an opportunity
to start every game and surpass his 12 goal performance of
1996.
The improved play of sophomore Martin Bruno and the added
dimension of true-freshman McKinley Tennyson Jr. only helps the
Bruins at the forward position. Bruno scored early in the season
against Vanderbilt and, counting scrimmages, he has already scored
as many goals as he did all of last season. Tennyson, who is
6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 191 pounds adds some size and
strength to compliment the speedy George and Theslof — creating a
more balanced attack.
"The one thing about our team is I think you can’t focus on just
one area," Schmid explained. "You can’t say that you are going to
concentrate on Seth and take him away because other people will
hurt you."
In the midfield, the return of a healthy Sasha Victorine,
arguably UCLA’s most talented player, will only add fuel to UCLA’s
high-octane offense.
Victorine, now a sophomore, suffered a dislocated shoulder in
the third game of the season that required surgery after the
playoffs in December.
With Victorine in the lineup, Schmid expects his team to be more
in control, due to Victorine’s progress in maturity and his
leadership qualities on the field.
"In college soccer, … the teams that put pressure and create
havoc sometimes have success," Schmid explained. "The opponent does
not have the maturity to say ‘Let’s make them chase the ball around
for a while.’
I don’t think that is a reflection of the quality of the player
as it is the reflection of the maturity of the player."
Victorine, Pete Vagenas and Shea Travis were all true-freshmen
forced into the starting lineup due to an exodus of talented
players at the end of the 1995 season. Now with a year under their
belt, their maturity should provide more patience and experience in
the middle. Also added to the mix are junior Tom Poltl and
true-freshman Shaun Tsakiris. Poltl was tied for third in scoring
with Victorine last season with 14 points while Tsakiris provides a
strong, accurate leg for free kicks and corner kicks.
Victorine feels that due to the tough loss to Cal State
Fullerton in the first round last year and the added depth, UCLA is
poised to challenge again this season. The Bruins usually are
capable of having a bench that makes the team 14 to 15 players
deep, but with the new freshmen and the progress of several
sophomores, the team is now 18 to 19 deep.
"I think the skill level is higher this year than last year,"
Victorine said. "I think this year’s team will play better as a
whole together than last year’s team … I think by the end of the
season we’ll be gelling pretty well."
The biggest shuffle for the Bruins takes place in the defense.
Senior goalkeeper Matt Reis takes over the full-time job from the
departed Hartman, while Rimando and redshirt freshman Kevin
Perrault remain ready to jump into action in case of an injury.
Four seniors should ease the loss of Jakins to graduation. Kevin
Coye, Jimmy Conrad and Danny Sparks should be able fill in the
middle position vacated by Jakins. Keller will be at right
fullback, while sophomore Nick Panemo defends from the left side.
Bocanegra will also receive considerable playing time in the middle
of the Bruin defense.
The Bruins have all the pieces necessary to contend for a
national championship. If they are able to avoid major injuries
such as those to Victorine and Keller last season, the Bruins will
be able to depend on their depth to find an array of heroes come
season’s end.
"I think everyone is capable of stepping up," Victorine said. "I
just think that every game someone new has to step up and play
well. That is what it’s going to take. It might not come early on
in the season, but as we start getting closer and closer to the
playoffs it’s going to get more important that everybody keeps
stepping up their level of play."
However, if no one steps up, UCLA may be in for yet another
short-lived postseason appearance.
Daily Bruin file photo
Forward Seth George overtakes a player from Cal State Los
Angeles in a game last year.