Friday, November 22, 1996
MEN’S SOCCER:
UCLA squad takes on Titans in tournament openerBy Mark
Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
They have an 11-game winning streak and a 16-3 record
overall.
They went undefeated in league play and clinched the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation championship outright.
They are the No. 1 team in the country.
Even with this sterling resume, the UCLA men’s soccer team will
open its NCAA tournament effort on the road this weekend when they
take on Cal State Fullerton at Titan Stadium on Sunday.
Yes, that is the same Fullerton team that the Bruins beat last
month to clinch the MPSF Pacific Division title.
Regardless of the intricacies of the tournament selection
process, the Bruins will enter their 14th consecutive NCAA
tournament in Fullerton against the 10-4-5 Titans.
The Fullerton squad rode into the tournament on the shoulders of
forward Sheldon Thomas, the transfer from Trinidad and Tobago who
leads the team and the Far West Region with 17 goals and 39 points.
With Thomas’ firepower up front, the Titans are looking to regain
the form that carried them to the Final Four in 1993.
The Bruins will counter Fullerton’s top gun with some formidable
artillery of their own. Over the past five games, the Bruins have
scored 20 goals, including a 9-0 blowout of Cal State Sacramento
and last week’s 4-0 wipe-out of UC Berkeley.
Sophomore forward Seth George is at the top of the UCLA scoring
heap with 11 goals and 29 points. Striker Nick Theslof has 21
points on six goals and nine assists.
The UCLA defense has been just as hot, shutting out 11 opponents
this year and giving up only two goals in the last five games.
Senior defender Tahj Jakins will have the responsibility of marking
Thomas and he will be looking to replicate his effort from the
team’s previous meeting in which he held Thomas to two shots and no
points.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
Seth George (No. 12) will lead Bruin soccer team through
playoffs.