Although her Bruins romped to an easy 6-1 over UNLV Friday
night, UCLA women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis could not
celebrate as much as she might have liked. The Rebels were not just
another opponent for the Bruins because they were led by a familiar
face making a homecoming. UNLV is coached by former Bruin assistant
Katherine Mertz who made her first appearance in Westwood on Friday
since leaving for Las Vegas in 2004. “It was hard,”
Ellis said of playing Mertz. “We talked on and off during the
week. I think neither one of us wanted the draw. I think it might
be easier playing your friends because if she beats me then
I’m happy for her. She came out on the losing end, so it was
difficult.” Mertz coached in Westwood from 2000 to 2004 after
graduating from North Carolina State in 1998. She focused mainly on
goalkeepers during her time at UCLA, while helping lead the Bruins
to three appearances in the College Cup, twice reaching the NCAA
Championship. “I was going through a lot of emotions,”
Mertz said. “I was trying to prepare myself, but you
don’t really know what it’s going to feel like when you
step out on the field. I’m just happy from what I’ve
been able to learn from UCLA and take it to UNLV and apply it
there.” Mertz has found success at the Mountain West school,
leading her team to two straight NCAA appearances and two
conference tournament titles. Although her season ended Friday
night, Mertz still found the silver lining in facing her former
school. “It was fun to watch the girls play from UCLA, and it
was fun to watch them enjoy the game,” Mertz said.
“Obviously I didn’t want them to enjoy it that much,
but it was just fun to be back and coach against Jill.”
BRUINS HONORED: Eight Bruins were honored by
the Pac-10 last week, receiving all-conference honors headlined by
freshman Lauren Cheney. Cheney was named Freshman of the Year
despite missing the first four games of the year playing with the
U.S. Under-20 National Team. She leads the conference with 17 goals
and 34 points and also ranks fourth nationally in goals per game.
Oregon’s Nicole Garbin and Tara Erickson were named Player of
the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively. The pair led the
Ducks to their best season ever, going 12-6-2 with a second-place
conference finish. Cheney, junior Danesha Adams and sophomore
Christina DiMartino all received first-team honors. Junior
goalkeeper Valerie Henderson was named to the second team.
Sophomore Erin Hardy, and seniors Stacy Lindstrom and Bristyn Davis
received honorable-mention acclaim. Freshman Kristina Larsen was
named to the all-freshman squad along with Cheney.
RECORDS FALL: Cheney set two freshman records
over the weekend, breaking Kara Lang’s marks for game-winning
goals and tying Lang’s mark for goals. Cheney now has 17
goals on the season, netting eight game winners in the process.
Junior goalkeeper Valerie Henderson set the UCLA career wins mark
at 54 on Sunday, passing former-Bruin Lindsay Culp.