USD Defeats Stanford, Looks Ahead to UCLA : Soccer: The Toreros win, 3-0, and advance to second round of the playoffs, where they will face the Bruins.

It wasn’t long after the USD men’s soccer team won its opening-round game in the NCAA championships, 3-0 over Stanford on Saturday, that players and Coach Seamus McFadden began talking about UCLA, the No. 5 team in the country and the top-seeded team in the Western Region.

“Last time we went up to UCLA in the playoffs,” McFadden said, “after the game someone said that to compare us to UCLA was like comparing a Volkswagen to a Corvette. Well, tell them we’ll be driving up there this time in a Corvette.”

UCLA, which received the West’s first-round bye, will play host to USD in the second round Nov. 22.

“The road out of the West always goes through Westwood,” doesn’t it?” McFadden asked. “You always have to go through the mighty Bruins.”

If McFadden appears preoccupied with the Bruins, there’s a reason. USD has not beaten UCLA in 11 games.

USD gets its 12th crack at UCLA mostly because of sophomore Steve Shipley, a seldom-used substitute.

Shipley, who entered the game with two seconds remaining in the first half, responded after halftime with an assist on USD’s first goal, which took Stanford out of its deliberate style. He then scored the Toreros’ second goal to take Stanford out of the game, and finally assisted on USD’s final tally.

Not bad for someone who expected to watch the game.

“The only way I was going to get in was if it went to overtime,” Shipley said. “I only play if the starters get tired, and that doesn’t happen when we haven’t played for a week.”

But McFadden realized his team was responding poorly to a strong and imposing Stanford side during the scoreless first half and decided that Shipley, 6 feet, 180 pounds, might be able to turn the momentum.

“I knew I had to put in someone who was big and physical,” McFadden said. “And you could see why when they were trying to knock (Shipley) off the ball, but couldn’t.”

McFadden was referring to USD’s second goal, which came after a give-and-go play just inside the midfield stripe between Shipley and Doug Barry. Shipley took Barry’s pass and dribbled down field while fighting off Stanford defender Jason Vanacour, who was trying to knock him off the ball.

“But he couldn’t do it,” McFadden said. “Shipley beat him off and banged it home. He rose to the occasion.”

Added Shipley, “I got the ball and felt the guy on my back the whole way down the field. I was just hoping to get to the penalty box, and when I got there I just gave him a good fore arm.

“I guess playing rugby in high school helped.”

The goal came with 15 minutes remaining. Kevin Legg had scored earlier in the second half, and Guillermo Jara punctuated the drubbing 1 1/2 minutes after Shipley’s goal.

Afterward, McFadden’s words betrayed some contradictory emotions.

“We didn’t play as well as we had hoped,” McFadden said. He then realized what he was saying. “What coach could be unhappy with a 3-0 win?”

This one certainly wasn’t.

“We scored 61 goals this season, averaged three a game, and we get three more tonight even without playing well in the first half, and that’s the encouraging thing.”

USD was outshot in the first half, 5-1, but had 14 at the end of the game, two more than Stanford. Goalie Scott Garlick only had to make three saves for his sixth shutout this season.