Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Men’s soccer notebook
NCAA seeds four from West Coast
When the NCAA seeded four West Coast teams in the same bracket,
the chances of the MPSF claiming a strong showing in the tournament
went down the drain.
One of the criterions considered by the NCAA in seeding is the
conference’s overall success in the tournament. But with only one
MPSF team capable of getting past the second round, UCLA head coach
Sigi Schmid doesn’t believe the selection committee seeded teams
improperly.
Bruins will host Washington
The fifth-seeded UCLA men’s soccer team found out Monday morning
that they will host the second-round NCAA match-up against unseeded
Washington.
The Bruins (18-2 overall, ranked No. 2 by Soccer America) are
happy to get a chance to extend their home win streak to 20 – UCLA
is 11-0 at home this year and 9-0 at Spaulding Field.
UCLA’s two losses this year have come at Saint Louis and
Fullerton. The last time the Bruins lost at home was Sept. 19,
1996, against California.
Teams haven’t yet met in MPSF play
UCLA and the Washington Huskies (15-2-2, ranked No. 4 by Soccer
America) face off for the first time this year – even though they
both belong to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
UCLA won the Pacific division and overall MPSF title with a win
over Stanford. A loss by Washington to the Cardinal wiped out the
Huskies’ chance to capture the MPSF title.
Washington got its revenge against Stanford with a 2-1
double-overtime victory at Seattle on Sunday.
Coye may not play due to knee injury
Senior defenseman Kevin Coye had an MRI done on his right knee
late Monday and is questionable for the second-round match against
Washington. He suffered an injury to his medial collateral ligament
in the first half of UCLA’s first-round 3-1 victory over Santa
Clara.
South Florida, Indiana advance
The first seeded team to go down fighting was No. 8 Florida
International, who lost 3-1 to South Florida on Friday.
FIU’s failure to advance after last year’s championship game
appearance is reason to believe the NCAA seeding was a little
questionable – especially since Schmid believes Washington should
have earned a seed.
Also, No. 1 Indiana (22-0) survived a first-round scare by
Butler. The Hoosiers, who have been favored to become champions
since the start of the season, won 2-1 in overtime and kept their
national title hopes alive.
Compiled by Vytas Mazeika, Daily Bruin Staff