As one of the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, the third-ranked UCLA women’s soccer team kicks off the postseason hosting the first and second rounds of the tournament this weekend.
The third-ranked Bruins (17-2-1) will be facing a new opponent in Boise State (13-6-4) on Friday. The Broncos, seeded No. 16, are coming off a 1-0 win over Nevada on Sunday to nab the 2009 Western Athletic Conference title.
Tonight’s match marks the Broncos’ first ever game in the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State (14-3-5) and San Diego (12-6-2) will face off at Drake Stadium on Friday during the first round of the tournament. Should the Bruins beat Boise State, they will play the winner of the San Diego-SDSU match on Sunday.
UCLA owns a 7-1-1 all-time record against San Diego State, and is 15-1-4 all-time against San Diego, including a 1-1 draw in the Bruins’ second match of the season.
UCLA is coming off a 2-0 weekend in which they defeated Washington 2-1 and Washington State 2-0 to close Pac-10 play and to take second behind No. 1 Stanford in the conference.
The Bruins have reached the NCAA Tournament every season during coach Jill Ellis’s 11 years as head coach and have reached the second round every year during that stint.
Pac-10 honors all around
Senior forward Lauren Cheney earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors this week, becoming the first UCLA player to earn that recognition each of her four years in Westwood. Cheney leads the team in scoring, with 32 points on 13 goals and six assists.
Cheney reached a milestone last week during Friday’s match against the Washington Huskies when she fired her 27th career game-winning goal, surpassing former Bruins Danesha Adams and Traci Arkenburg to break a school record in game-winning goals.
Sophomore Sydney Leroux, who ties with Cheney in scoring with 32 points on 15 goals and two assists, earned second-team honors.
Honorable mention honorees include seniors defender Dea Cook and forward Kristina Larsen, who is third in scoring with 21 points on nine goals and three assists.
Freshmen forward Zakiya Bywaters and midfielder Chelsea Cline were selected on the Pac-10 Freshmen Team. Bywaters recorded 11 points on two goals and seven assists, and Cline posted nine points on three goals and three assists.
Compiled by Rebecca Lee, Bruin Sports senior staff.