For men’s soccer sophomores Sal Zizzo and Tony Beltran, the college offseason will not mean time off of the soccer field. The two Bruins will be at the U.S. Under-20 National Team training camp to be held in Canada. The training camp is part of the U.S. team’s preparations for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
The American side will take on the Canadians twice in early June. The first match between the two teams is scheduled for June 3 in Ottawa, Ontario, and the second game is just three days later in Kingston, Ontario.
Zizzo and Beltran are not the only collegiate players to make the roster, with a total of seven out of 16 players from college teams.
UCLA also has a strong presence on the U.S. men’s national team, with a total of five former Bruins being named to the 19-man roster that will take on the Chinese side on June 2 in San Jose. Former Bruins Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Benny Feilhaber, Ante Razov, and Kamani Hill will be representing the U.S. and competing for playing time.
Hill will be looking for his first full national team appearance against China. The game will be televised on ESPN2, starting at 5 p.m.
Bocanegra, with 44 international games under his belt and six goals, is the third-most experienced player on the entire team, and along with Feilhaber, Bornstein, and fellow former Bruin Frankie Hejduk, has already been named to the roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup takes place June 6-24 with the American side beginning play against Guatemala on June 7. The match will be held close by at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
WOMEN’S TEAM NETS TOP-RANKED CLASS: Soccer Buzz magazine recently announced UCLA’s recruiting class of 2007 to be the best in the nation.
Three standout athletes from this class were recently named to Parade Magazine’s All-America team: Lauren Barnes (D, Upland), Kylie Wright (MF, Rancho Santa Margarita) and Sarah Salazar (MF, Broken Arrow, Okla.). Barnes was also recently named the Gatorade California Girl’s Soccer Player of the Year and received an automatic nomination for the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
UCLA’s class comes ahead of, in order, Florida State’s, North Carolina’s, and Boston College’s. The Bruins have had the No. 2 class for the past two years, and seven of the eight recruiting classes coach Jill Ellis has signed since becoming head coach in 1999 have been in the top 10.
WATER POLO RECEIVES ACADEMIC HONORS: Women’s water polo players Emily Feher, Molly Cahill, Jenna Murphy and Jillian Kraus were all named MPSF All-Academic selections, it was announced Tuesday. These athletes were honored for their outstanding efforts in the classroom while simultaneously contributing to the national title-winning water polo team. This is Cahill and Feher’s third all-academic selection, Kraus’ second, and Murphy’s first.
Compiled by Allister Wenzel, Bobby Gordon, Bruin Sports senior staff.