Turf’s Up for Bruin Soccer Team in Tournament

UCLA, among four teams competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation soccer tournament that starts Friday in Seattle, will have to adjust its game to the AstroTurf at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium.

The field, which is used for football and soccer, is also 11 feet narrower than regulation and angles down from an elevated area at midfield for water drainage. With a slight breeze, a ball placed at the middle of the field can roll off to the sidelines.

Even the home team Huskies, who used an intramural field earlier in the season, would rather play elsewhere.

“If we had our choice, we’d prefer to play on grass,” Washington Coach Dean Wurzberger said.

UCLA, the top Pacific Division team, will play Stanford, the second-place Mountain Division team, at 5 p.m. Washington, winner of the Mountain Division, will play Pacific runner-up Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. The championship match is Sunday at 1 p.m., with the winner receiving an automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs.

“It’s a different game on AstroTurf,” Wurzberger said. “We’ll have played three games there and we’re just starting to feel better about the surface.”

Of greater concern for UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid is the configuration of the field.

“With the difference in square footage, it’s an awful amount of real estate you lose,” Schmid said. “If you reduced the size of a basketball court by the same 15%, you’re not going to see much scoring, since more players are in your face. And the same is true for soccer.”

Playing on its regulation-size home field with a natural surface, No. 6 UCLA (13-2-2, 6-1) won the Pacific Division on Sunday by defeating Cal State Fullerton, 3-1. The No. 25 Titans (12-5, 6-1) had been unbeaten in league play.

During its four-game winning streak, the Bruin scoring leaders have been freshman Eddie Lewis, with three goals and three assists, and senior midfielder Paul Radcliffe, with two goals and two assists.

“We moved Eddie up as one of the two strikers and he’s definitely responded,” Schmid said. “Paul has always had those outstanding shooting and passing skills. But recently, he’s much more physical and dynamic than in the past. He’s making moves that he never attempted before.”

Stanford (11-6-1, 5-2) lost the Mountain Division title last week to Washington, 1-0, in overtime, after outshooting the Huskies, 14-5. The leading Cardinal scorer is senior Jason Vanacour with nine goals and three assists. Senior goalkeeper Kyle Krpata has 38 saves and a 1.04 goals-against average.

Number 11 Washington (11-2-3, 6-1) is led by sophomore Eric Penner, the fourth-leading scorer in the NCAA West Region with 12 goals and three assists. Last year, Penner’s first career goal was a game-winner in Washington’s 2-1 overtime win over UCLA. Husky junior goalkeeper Dusty Hudock has 11 shutouts and his 0.36 goals-against average is second in the nation.

If UCLA and Washington were to advance to the championship, it would match two of the country’s top college goalkeepers in the Hudock and Bruin junior Brad Friedel, who has 10 shutouts and a 0.50 goals-against average.

The Pepperdine and UCLA water polo teams play today with a possible bid to the NCAA playoffs on the line. The match will be at the UCLA Sunset Canyon Recreation Center at 3 p.m.

The teams are 1-1 against each other. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the final at-large berth to the eight-team NCAA championships is expected to go to either Pepperdine, UCLA or UC Santa Barbara, according to Pepperdine Coach Terry Schroeder.

UC Santa Barbara (8-11), currently ranked sixth, will play host to Pepperdine on Saturday and UCLA on Sunday.

The No. 5 Waves (13-8) are led in scoring by senior driver Henry Rabello, who has 44 goals. Senior goalkeeper Peter Schuler, a third-team All-American last year, has a 6.91 goals-against average.

The No. 7 Bruins (7-10), who will also play host to Air Force on Friday at 3 p.m., are led by junior Chris Kellerman, who has a team-leading 25 goals. In its past three matches, UCLA Coach Guy Baker has started four freshmen, including driver Tommy Wong, who has 16 goals, and team assist leader Brett Stern.

Notes

Wisconsin freshman Robin Snowbeck, a two-time City Section cross-county champion from University High, will red-shirt this season.

The UCLA men’s cross-country team finished third with 89 points in the Pacific 10 championships at Stanford on Saturday, its highest finish in five years. Leading the Bruins were sophomore Creighton Harris, who placed 10th in 24 minutes 48 seconds over the 8-K course, and freshman Daniel Niednagel, who finished 16th in 17:36. The UCLA women placed fifth with 122 points on the 5-K course. Sophomore Karen Hecox was 10th in 17:33 and junior Beth Bartholomew was 11th in 17:36.

The Pepperdine men’s cross-country team finished fourth with 110 points in the West Coast Conference championships at the 8-K course at Crystal Springs in Belmont, Calif. Leading the Waves was junior Jason Kite, who finished 10th in 35:19. The Pepperdine women finished third with 82 points and were led by senior Jill Lloyd, who finished seventh in 19:44 over the 5-K course.

The No. 1 UCLA women’s volleyball team (20-0, 13-0 in the Pac-10) will play at Oregon State (12-11, 2-10) Friday and at Oregon on Saturday. The Bruins are the only undefeated team in either NCAA Division I or Division II.

The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team (8-13, 4-3 in the West Coast Conference) plays host to Portland tonight at 7. Last month, the Pilots (13-14, 1-7) snapped Pepperdine’s 47-match conference winning streak. On Friday, the Waves will also play host to Gonzaga (11-12, 4-4) at 7 p.m. Pepperdine will travel to play UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Pepperdine basketball Coach Tom Asbury will conduct a coaches clinic at the Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday. Registration starts at 8 a.m.