W. SOCCER Today, 3:30 p.m. UNC Cary, N.C.
All the hard work by the UCLA women’s soccer team since
its disappointing end to last season has finally led to this: a
showdown with 18-time national champion North Carolina. The Bruins
(21-3) will face off against the No.1-ranked Tar Heels (25-1) in
the first national semifinal today at 3:30 p.m. It will be
televised live on ESPN2. Notre Dame (24-0-1) and Florida State
(18-3-4) will square off in the other semifinal match-up.
Today’s winners will face off Sunday for the national title.
“We’re pleased to be back here (at the Final Four), but
now we just have to win it,” coach Jill Ellis said.
“It’s that simple. We have to get the result (today)
and then look beyond if we do that. The players realize what they
have to do.” North Carolina is unquestionably the most
storied program in the history of the sport, but don’t expect
Ellis and her squad to be intimidated. If they were, they likely
would not have made it this far. All season long, Ellis has said
her players’ belief in themselves has carried them through
adversity to success. Now that they have reached the College Cup,
that mind-set hasn’t changed. “I told my players,
“˜You step on the field, and you’re playing 11 people.
You’re not playing the people in the stands; you’re not
playing the elements or the tradition. You’re playing the 11
people in the opposite jersey,'” Ellis said. “If
we can focus on what we’re capable of doing, everything else
becomes a non-factor.” The tournament site at SAS Soccer Park
in Cary, N.C., sits just 22 miles from Chapel Hill, where UNC is
located. The close proximity should give the Tar Heels a decided
home-field advantage. The weather forecast also calls for cold and
wet conditions, a marked difference from sunny Southern California.
UCLA has been stellar at home this season, going a perfect 16-0,
but are just 4-3 on the road. The last time the Bruins played in
the rain, they slogged through a split weekend, dropping a game to
unranked Oregon before rebounding against Oregon State. Still, the
Bruins have maintained the confidence that no matter the conditions
today, they can come out on top against the favored Tar Heels.
“We want to win (the national title) for each other,”
senior captain Bristyn Davis said. “We’ve put so much
hard work into this season. We want something to stand for
it.” Despite the recent success of the UCLA program ““
the Bruins are the only team to have reached the College Cup each
of the past four seasons ““ the team has yet to win a national
championship. If they are to defy their recent history, Davis and
her teammates will likely have to step up their defensive game in
order to limit North Carolina’s offensive stars, who include
Heather O’Reilly and Yael Averbuch. Both O’Reilly and
Averbuch, as well as Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks, are finalists
for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy given to college soccer’s top
player. “I think that it’s important everybody plays
defense,” Davis said. “If everybody’s on the same
page, talking to each other and communicating, that’s going
to be very important for us to win.” Whatever the outcome of
this weekend, however, Ellis has learned to maintain perspective.
She knows a loss will not define her, her team or their season.
“Every year you get to this point and you want to do it, but
I don’t think we’re failures if we don’t get it
done,” Ellis said. “Ninety-nine percent of the teams
would give their right arm to get to this point. “We’re
here; we want to win. We’ve positioned ourselves to get to
this point, and I think we’re capable of doing it.”
EXTRA TIME: The Tar Heels have not lost since
dropping their season opener to Texas A&M. … Anson Dorrance
is looking for his 800th career victory as soccer coach at UNC.
Dorrance has coached the women’s team for 28 seasons, but was
originally hired to coach the men’s team, which he led for 12
years. … The Tar Heels are 20-2 all-time in NCAA semifinals. …
The Tar Heels are making their first College Cup appearance since
2003, when they won the title. … UCLA is 0-5 all-time against
North Carolina. … The last time the Bruins played in Cary, back
in 2004, they lost to Notre Dame in the final in a penalty-kick
shootout.