If winning your conference opener means capturing the conference
title then Pacific 10 opponents beware. In the 10 years of
volleyball existence in the Pac-10, the UCLA women’s volleyball
team has taken the conference title six times. And every
championship team has been victorious in the conference opener.
Last Friday, UCLA began Pac-10 play by sweeping Oregon in three
games. But the scores are deceiving. The Bruins trailed early in
the first two games. In game one, they were down 4-1 before scoring
the next 14 points.
After sophomore outside hitter Chaska Potter was blocked, UCLA
head coach Andy Banachowski called a timeout to slow down Oregon’s
momentum. The timeout worked – the Bruins held Oregon to four
points through the rest of the game and beat the Ducks in 30
minutes. Senior middle blocker Kim Krull had eight of her 17 kills
in game one to spark the win.
In game two, Oregon led 2-1 after outside hitter Alli White
crushed one of her seven kills. UCLA then sided out on a kill by
Tamika Johnson. The teams traded sideouts before UCLA tied the
match at 2-2 when Oregon setter Casey Crisler mishandled the ball.
The Ducks scored only one more point in the game, when UCLA was up
14-2. Freshman Elisabeth Bachman blasted Oregon’s overpass to end
game two.
Unlike games one and two, UCLA led early and was up 9-2 before
Oregon began a comeback. Oregon outside hitter Amy Barnes’ kill
began the run where Oregon scored four straight points before UCLA
answered with two of their own. The Bruins were up 14-8 but
couldn’t put the game away as Oregon fought off six match points to
tie the game at 14-14. After UCLA called its second time-out of the
game, Oregon self-destructed and had three hitting errors to give
the Bruins the match.
Sept. 21 – UCLA d. Oregon State 15-13, 15-5, 15-2
Although Oregon State began its season 10-0, a visit to the
Southland quickly ended any notions of an undefeated season. After
beating USC the night before, the tired Beavers faced an energized
UCLA squad that was psyched for battle.
Oregon State was competitive in game one, losing only by two
points, but UCLA ran away with the match. OSU scored only five more
points in the match as the Bruins swept the Beavers in three
games.
M. soccer: Losing streak is over
Sept. 19 – California 2, UCLA 1
For the first time since 1994, the UCLA men’s soccer team was
hit with consecutive regular season defeats as they fell to the
Golden Bears 2-1 in their home opener.
Not since they took two on the chin from the Fresno State
Bulldogs at the end of the 1994 campaign had the Bruins tasted
defeat in back-to-back games, but moments of ineptitude are not
surprising to the UCLA braintrust, considering the team’s youth
.
"When you have a young team, inconsistency can be a problem,"
UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid said. "In neither game did we get
completely dominated, but we’re struggling on offense."
UCLA drew first blood midway through the first half when
sophomore forward Seth George notched his third goal of the season.
George took a cross from midfielder Josh Keller and finished from
the left side of the box.
The defensive brand of soccer that Cal brought to Spaulding
Field began to keep the Bruin offense in check throughout the later
portions of the game as the Bears kept multiple players in a
defensive posture.
But UCLA’s lone goal held up until the 77th minute, when Cal
substitute Ryan Fitzpatrick notched the equalizer on a breakaway.
With the Bruin offense unable to put together coordinated attacks
and maintain possession, the game went into overtime. During the
extra frame, Cal notched a second goal which the Bruins were unable
to match.
"After the early season, we felt like we might hit a dry spell,"
Schmid said. "It was a combination of us playing a defensive team
and us not having enough imagination and composure in front of the
goal."
Sept. 21 – UCLA 1, USF 0
The Bruins (4-2) rebounded from back-to-back losses with a
decisive victory over the Dons.
The final score does not properly illustrate the rejuvenated
play of the UCLA offense, which began to wax creative around the
goal and put together several legitimate scoring opportunities.
It was certainly a step in the right direction for the Bruins.
Although only one of their shots found the back of the net, they
were able to muster a more impressive effort on offense, something
that had been missing in earlier contests.
"It was good to get a victory and we created a lot of chances,"
UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid said. "Winning four or five to zero
would have been perfect but winning 1-0 was good."
The only goal of the game was scored by midfielder Josh Keller,
his second of the season, off assists by Seth George and Martin
Bruno.
W. Soccer: Bruins rebound with wins
Sept. 22 – UCLA 2, Hawaii 0
The UCLA Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak after
dominating the Hawaii Rainbows. The undermatched Rainbows managed
only two shots on goal the entire game, severely cramping any
opportunities on offense.
Meanwhile, UCLA recorded 20 shots on goal with Traci Arkenberg
(4) and Shannon Thomas (1) both slipping one past Hawaii goalkeeper
Amy Peterson in the first half. Freshman Bree Edwards assisted on
Arkenberg’s goal, her team-high third of the year.
Sept. 25 – UCLA 3, Fresno State 0
With three second-half goals, the UCLA Bruins won their second
straight game and third consecutive home game without a loss.
Fresno State goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone kept the Bulldogs in
the game in the first half. Although the Bruins controlled the ball
on offense, Johnstone allowed the Bruins only one shot. But the
defense that bent finally broke as Traci Arkenberg (5) scored early
in the second half on a goal assisted by Louise Lieberman (2).
Arkenberg added her sixth goal of the season near the end of the
game to seal the victory, while Sherice Bartling’s (3) goal
provided the final margin.
Water Polo: Still unbeaten at 6-0
Sept. 21 – UCLA 13, UCSB 6
The No. 1 ranked Bruins look to repeat last season’s perfect
record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and started off on
the right note Saturday as they defeated No. 11 UC Santa Barbara by
a final score of 13-6.
Once again, it was the offensive punch of the Bruins that made
for a long day for the Gauchos.
A five-goal outburst in the second quarter increased UCLA’s lead
to 9-4 and, for the most part, put UCSB down for the count.
Junior Luther Weidner paced the Bruin attack with three points,
giving him a total of nine for the season, good for second on the
squad.
UCSB’s Ryan Peddycord was the only player to score for the
Gauchos, as he connected on three two-point goals, one in each of
the first three quarters.
The balanced UCLA offense proved too much for Peddycord and
UCSB, as seven Bruins combined to score the team’s 13 points.
Behind Weidner, UCLA’s Brett Stern, Terry Baker and Corbin
Graham put up two scores apiece.
UCLA got great defense in the cage from freshman goalie Parsa
Bonderson, who recorded nine saves in what was a homecoming of
sorts for him. Bonderson played his high school polo at San Marcos
in Santa Barbara.
Sept. 22 – UCLA 8, Pacific 7
For only the second time this season, UCLA was taken right down
to the wire by their opponent. Sixth-ranked Pacific put a scare in
the Bruins, but eventually fell by a score of 8-7.
Three goals in the fourth quarter by Pacific tightened a game
that was seemingly in UCLA’s control.
Pacific had a chance in the game’s last minute to at least force
overtime. With 30 seconds left in the final period, Pacific had
possession but were unable to get a shot off and became the Bruins’
second straight conference victim.
Pacific made it close in the final period, scoring three goals
to UCLA’s one.
Corbin Graham scored that deciding goal in the fourth quarter
with 1:57 left, to put the Bruins up 8-5.
Jeremy Braxton-Brown paced the Bruins with three goals, all
coming in the third period. His scores extended the Bruin lead to
7-4 going into the final period.
The victory ran the UCLA record to 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the MPSF
and assured them of being on top of the polls going into the Air
Force Tournament this weekend.
The Bruins do not play another league game until Oct. 19 against
Pepperdine.
Cross Country: Freshmen shine
Sept. 21 – Aztec Invitational
Kim Mortensen ran beautifully in leading the UCLA women’s cross
country team to a second-place finish at the Aztec Invitational,
winning the overall race by an even 60 seconds. However, it was
another Bruin freshman who surprised everyone at last Saturday’s
meet.
That would be Daniel Brecht, who in his first college race
propelled himself from relative obscurity in high school to an
eighth-place finish in his first college cross-country race. In the
process, he helped lift the UCLA men’s team to a first-place finish
in San Diego.
"Most freshmen have trouble adjusting to the longer distance
runners run in college," UCLA men’s head Coach Bob Larsen said.
"But Danny’s improved with the added distance. It’s been a nice
surprise for us."
In high school, cross-country runners of both sexes run
three-mile races. While that distance remains the same for women,
men’s races are bumped up to five miles, and that distance seemed
to suit Brecht quite well.
UCLA went into the race without both Devin Elizondo and Chris
Lynch, who are probably among the Bruins’ top-four runners.
Unfulfilled academic obligations left Elizondo ineligible to
compete, while a 103-degree temperature left Lynch bedridden in the
week leading up to the Aztec meet.
As a result, UCLA needed top-notch performances from their next
best five runners to pull off a victory. They got them.
Mebrahtom Keflezighi set a San Diego course record for the third
straight year, despite having the starting line moved backward. The
increase in course length caused times to rise by an average of 15
seconds, but Keflezighi’s actually lopped a few seconds off his
time from a year ago.
A third-place finish by Mark Hauser, combined with solid
performances by Brecht, Matt Olin, and Brandon Del Campo, played an
integral role in UCLA’s victory. The three latter runners finished
eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.
On the women’s side, Mortensen and senior Githa Hampson finished
one and two overall for the second straight race, while freshman
Tina Bowen came across fourth. However, no UCLA runner came across
the finish line until Melinda George ended her race in the 19th
position, resulting in a second-place finish behind Florida.