The women’s soccer team wants to win the national
championship.
They think they have a good shot at it, too.
“We have the capability and the talent to do it,”
sophomore defender Kendal Billingsley said. “Our team works
really hard and that’s our goal. We’re looking forward
to becoming national champs this year.”
Is this another example of unbridled collegiate athletics
optimism, or are the No. 6 Bruins (14-3, 6-1 Pac-10) actually on to
something?
Two years ago, UCLA lost to North Carolina in the NCAA
championship, and last year, the Bruins went 20-3 and won the
Pac-10 title before losing to Florida in the NCAA
quarterfinals.
While the Bruins have established a pedigree of excellence the
last few years, No. 1 Stanford (16-1, 7-0) is poised to collect the
Pac-10 crown this year. They defeated the Bruins 1-0 in the
teams’ only matchup Oct. 13.
“It’s important to win your conference, and I think
we’ve done well in the conference,” head coach Jillian
Ellis said. “If you had to trade off, we’d take the
national championship in a heartbeat. Last year, I would rather
have taken the win over Florida and gone to the Final Four, rather
than being the Pac-10 champions.
“Nationally, you want to do better, but I’m pleased
with how we’ve played in the Pac-10 ““ we’ve done
fairly well ““ and we are young team. The future looks really
bright.”
Despite her public relations-like talk of a bright future, Ellis
certainly calls it like she sees it.
When NCAA pairings are announced Nov. 11, Stanford should be at
the top of the heap. The Cardinal came from behind to beat Cal, 2-1
Saturday. With another win (Stanford plays the Arizona schools next
weekend), the Cardinal will clinch at least a share of the Pac-10
title.
“If Stanford keeps going, the chances of winning the
Pac-10 title kind of slips away,” Ellis said. “So
we’re really focusing on winning the whole thing right now;
that’s kind of our goal.”
Due to its national ranking, UCLA will likely play at home in
the first round of the NCAA playoffs Nov. 15.
The Bruins swept the Oregon schools in their final home matches
of the season this past weekend and finish the regular season next
weekend against the Washington schools.
When you ask a player about team standouts or to name an athlete
key to the team’s success, diplomacy abounds ““ Stacy
Lindstrom, Lindsay Greco, Crystal James, Tracey Winzen, Whitney
Jones, Allie True, Amy Fazio, Sarah Lombardo are all mentioned
““ so this year’s run at the championship is clearly a
team effort.
“I think we’re all playing really well as a team,
and that’s how we win games,” Greco said. “I
think that we’re all playing really well together.”
Physically, UCLA is prepared for the post-season, but looks to
improve its set plays, according to Ellis.
“We haven’t really scored that much off of corner
kicks yet,” Ellis said. And in the big games those set pieces
can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Maybe it’s just easy to be jaded at UCLA ““ where
almost every team is a preseason pick to win a national title.
Let’s review the facts:
UCLA is the No. 6 team in the country.
They are one game out of first place in their conference.
When talking to the team members, one can tell that when the
Bruins mention the national championship, they are not simply being
optimists.
They are on to something.
With contributions by Eric Perez, Daily Bruin Reporter.