Thompson Stands Tall for UCLA : Soccer: Nominated for player of the year, the 5-foot-5 forward leads the Bruins into an NCAA West Region semifinal.

UCLA forward Billy Thompson finished sixth in the 1989 voting for the Missouri Athletic Club’s player-of-the-year award, college soccer’s equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy, which was a tribute to his reputation, considering that he didn’t play last season because of a broken leg.

One year later, Thompson again is among 10 nominees for the MAC award. He might actually deserve it this time.

Entering Sunday’s 1 p.m. NCAA West Region semifinal against the University of San Diego at UCLA’s North Soccer Field, Thompson has 17 goals and seven assists in 19 games.

“Having an individual who guarantees you a goal a game is something we haven’t had for a while,” UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid said.

Success is routine for the Bruins, who have advanced to the playoffs nine times in Schmid’s 11 years as coach and won the NCAA championship in 1985. But, while recent teams could rely on strong defenses, Schmid figured that he would need more offense this season to compensate for the loss of goalkeeper Anton Nistl.

As it turned out, UCLA’s defense has not suffered in front of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brad Friedel. The Bruins have allowed 15 goals in 20 games, only two more than their opponents scored last season in 23 games.

But Schmid also got more offense, almost three goals a game, although he did not expect so much of it to come from a player who missed last season after breaking his leg twice.

“I set a goal of scoring 20 goals this season,” said Thompson, a fifth-year senior from Santa Cruz. “I thought I would need to do that in order for us to win.”

As a result of its balance, UCLA has a 15-1-4 record and is ranked No. 2 in the coaches’ poll. One of the Bruins’ few disappointments came in the fourth game, a 3-3 tie on the road against 18th-ranked University of San Diego (16-2-5).

“They’ve got a good offensive team,” Thompson said of the Toreros, one of only two teams to score more than one goal against the Bruins. “We do, too. I’ll bet there are four or five goals scored. I’m hoping we can get at least three and hold them to one.”

Thompson’s optimism about the Bruins’ defense is based in part on the expected return of fullback Mike Lapper, a sophomore from Huntington Beach who was expected to be a redshirt this year because of an injury, but wanted to be on the field for the playoffs.

For his own health reasons, Thompson is particularly interested in Lapper’s physical condition.

At 5 feet 5 and 135 pounds, Thompson often is the victim of less than genteel play by opposing fullbacks.

“I never retaliate,” he said. “I just give Lapper a look and let him take care of it at the other end.”

Thompson said he considers his size an advantage. “Usually, teams have big forwards, so defensive teams use big fullbacks,” he said. “I love going up against big guys. If I can get the ball at my feet, I can beat them with my speed and quickness. I have to run a lot, but I don’t mind. I don’t want to get caught just standing there.”

If Thompson has a future with the national team, it’s probably as a wing because U.S. Coach Bob Gansler prefers large forwards.

“I can adjust to the wing,” Thompson said. “But I’m more comfortable being in the middle of things.”

Thompson’s nickname, “Wee Man,” was given to him by a Scottish coach during a summer camp.

“You know the Scots,” Schmid said. “If you’re under 5-11, you’re ‘wee.’ If you’re over 5-11, you’re a ‘big ‘un.’ Billy is not a big ‘un.”