ST. LOUIS “”mdash; The players on the field wore long sleeves,
the players on the bench wore large jackets, and the ground
surrounding the field was covered in snow. It was not your typical
UCLA-UCSB matchup. The eighth-seeded Bruins took on the Gauchos in
the championship game of the College Cup in St. Louis, with the
temperature at the start of the game a crisp 24 degrees. By
contrast, it was 75 degrees in Los Angeles. “It was freezing
out there,” defender Mike Zaher said. “At the end of
the game I couldn’t feel my face (or) my fingers.” The
Bruins traveled approximately 1,830 miles to face a Gaucho team
that plays approximately 95 miles from Los Angeles. The spectators
in the stands were wearing multiple coats and hats as they watched
the two teams from beach cities square off. “It’s kinda
funny,” sophomore Jason Leopoldo said. “You bring two
California teams to the finals in freezing weather. … (The rough
weather is) pretty strange to play in.” Oddly, the two
California teams each beat a team from the East Coast (which
presumably would be used to cold conditions) in order to face each
other in the finals. UCLA beat Virginia in the semifinals, 4-0, and
UCSB beat Wake Forest 4-3 in penalty kicks. “(You have to)
give credit to West Coast soccer, especially Southern California,
just for the amount of talent that we have out here,”
defender Kiel McClung said. “(But) it’s unfortunate
having to play two California teams in freezing weather. It’d
be nice to play out in California.” Despite the fierce cold
and the frustrations of the result, the Bruins were quick to
discount the weather as a reason for their play in the 2-1 loss to
the Gauchos. “It wasn’t easy, but we played Santa
Barbara, another California team,” Zaher said. “They
were in the same weather we were, freezing their asses off, and
they got two goals and we got one. If it had been Virginia or Wake
(Forest), or any of the East Coast teams, then you could say it was
a little bit of an advantage, but it wasn’t.” The
effects of the cold were visible on fouls. When the warm-weather
players hit the cold ground, it took longer for players on both
sides to spring back up. Communication also became an issue at
certain points in the game. “It was hard to talk,”
defender Sean Alvarado said. “Our mouths were frozen.
We’re not really used to it. (But) the result wasn’t
the weather’s fault. We wish the weather could have been
better, but you have to deal with it. That’s what an athlete
does.”
AWARDS: Three Bruins were named to the 2006
Men’s College Cup All-Tournament Team after the
Sunday’s final: freshman David Estrada and sophomores Tony
Beltran and Jason Leopoldo. UCSB had five players selected,
including Most Outstanding Offensive Player Nick Perera and Most
Outstanding Defensive Player Andy Iro. In other awards, midfielder
Sal Zizzo was selected to the NSCAA All-American second team, and
defender Mike Zaher earned All-Far-West third-team honors.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: Fans booed loudly when a
UCSB player kicked the ball out of bounds deep into UCLA territory
instead of directly out at midfield after UCLA had put the ball out
to allow a Gaucho player to recover. … At halftime, fans were let
on the field to attempt a goal from the half line. When no one
could, they were allowed to move closer to try again. …. After
the final whistle, UCLA and UCSB were presented with their
respective trophies on the field in front of the fans.
DEJA VU: The national title for UCSB marks the
second title in the history of the school. The first title came at
the expense of UCLA in 1979, when the Gauchos defeated the Bruins
to win the championship in men’s water polo.