And then there was one. UCLA is currently the only Pac-10
women’s soccer team remaining after two rounds of the NCAA
tournament, an unusual occurrence for the perennially strong soccer
conference. “It’s been an off year for the
Pac-10,” coach Jill Ellis said. “We just haven’t
done that well as a conference.” Stanford, a team usually
ranked in the top 10, lost to national runner-up Santa Clara in the
first round. Washington and USC also made early exits. Aside from
UCLA, Arizona State was the only other Pac-10 team to make it to
the second round, where the Sun Devils were also defeated by Santa
Clara. Despite the lack of success from the conference, Ellis
doesn’t feel added pressure to make a name for the Pac-10.
“We’re so competitive within the Pac-10 that you
honestly try to take care of yourself first,” she said.
“But you do want your conference to do well and get respect
nationally.” National respect is something that may be
slightly lacking for the Bruins, who finished the regular season
with one loss and a No. 2 ranking in both the NSCAA/adidas and
Soccer Times polls. However, the tournament selection committee
awarded the No. 4 seed to UCLA, placing both Notre Dame and Florida
ahead of the Bruins. “The committee obviously thinks that the
conference isn’t as strong as it has been,” Ellis said.
But the Bruin coach also pointed out the fact that, because of
regionalization of the tournament bracket, talented West Coast
teams are forced to square off against each other in the early
rounds. “I really believe that the West Coast is very, very
good, and it doesn’t get the respect it deserves,” said
Ellis, who grew up on the East Coast and played collegiate soccer
at William and Mary. “Now you have Santa Clara and Portland
paired up against each other, and there are murmurings of a West
Coast conspiracy.” Santa Clara and Portland met in the
championship match last year, and they will meet again Friday at
Portland in the third round. The last time less than one Pac-10
team made it to the Sweet 16 was in 1998, when no one made it past
the second round.
BRACKET WATCH: If the Bruins need more reason
to believe they deserved the No. 2 seed in the tournament behind
North Carolina, they must look no further than South Bend, where
Michigan defeated No. 2 Notre Dame 1-0 on Nov. 16. But Ellis is
more focused on the task at hand. “To be honest, what’s
done is done,” she said. “We weren’t disappointed
to see Notre Dame get knocked out, but at this point, you can only
worry about what’s in front of you. “When you start
saying “˜I told you so’ is when you get bit.”
LOOKING AHEAD: If UCLA is able to beat Kansas
on Friday, the team will face the winner of Penn State and Texas
A&M next week. The Aggies are a team the Bruins remember all
too well, as last year’s third round playoff game at Drake
Stadium saw Texas A&M triumph in penalty kicks, despite being
outshot 21-0 in the game. “It would be awesome (to face Texas
A&M),” senior defender Nandi Pryce said. “First of
all, it would never get to PKs. I think everyone would be so pissed
about last year that we wouldn’t let it get to that
point.”