Women’s War of Words Ends in 1-1 Tie

Maybe it was the vibes emanating from the adjacent Bren Center where a martial arts exhibition was under way. More likely, it was a result of emotions that began building three weeks ago when the UC Irvine men’s soccer team hosted Cal State Fullerton, and a war of words broke out between the women’s teams, both on hand to root for their male counterparts.

In any case, Sunday’s Big West showdown between the Anteaters and Titans was a colorful--eight yellow cards and two red cards--and physical battle that ended in a 1-1 tie in front of about 700 at Anteater Stadium.

“We knew it was going to be a fight,” Irvine senior Claudia Ruggiero said. “It was the kind of confrontation we expected.”

The teams tried to maintain the frenetic pace through the two 15-minute overtime periods and the Anteaters had the best chance to win it early in the second overtime. Nicole Bucciarelli dribbled by two defenders and sent a crisp pass to a wide-open Ruggiero, whose left-footed shot from 20 yards slipped just outside the far post.

“For about five minutes after that, I was nauseous,” Ruggiero said.

Irvine (10-7-2 and 4-1-1 in the Big West) dominated the first 15 minutes of play, but couldn’t convert despite a number of good scoring chances.

Then the Titans (12-3-1, 4-0-1) went ahead, 1-0, when Shawna Panter won the ball in a scramble in front of the net and slammed home a five-yard blast in the 20th minute. Kelly Bogan, who passed the ball up to Barbie Gill near the end line, and Gill, who crossed it in front of the goal, got assists on the play.

Bucciarelli tied the score in the 78th minute of regulation when Titan goalkeeper Suzy Strazzulla got a little careless while dribbling forward in the penalty box. Bucciarelli came in for a slide tackle and got a toe on the ball, caroming it off Strazzulla’s leg toward the far post. Both players got to their feet and raced after the ball and all three--Bucciarelli, Strazzulla and the ball--ended up in the back of the net.

“She was playing with it a little too much and I just got lucky on the tackle,” said Bucciarelli, who leads UCI with 12 goals this season.

That was the extent of the scoring, but only a fraction of the action. Fullerton defender Jenny Parkison and Irvine forward Tracie Manz got two yellow cards--which equals a red card--and were ejected.

Parkison got her first when she almost pulled off Manz’s uniform in the first half and the second for a late tackle early in the second half.

Manz picked up her second when she arrived at the prone Strazzulla a second too late and attempted to kick the ball from her grasp. Both players were injured on the play and remained on the ground several minutes.

For a few seconds, it appeared as if a full-scale brawl was about to break out as players from both teams rushed in to defend their fallen mates, but the referee was able to restore order.

Titan defender Kassie Rypel got a yellow card in the first half when she kicked at a prone Bucciarelli and Ruggiero got one when she retaliated by pushing Rypel down from behind. Irvine defender Michele Perez got one in the first half for a late tackle and Bucciarelli got one in the second half when she pulled down midfielder Vanessa Thomas.

“It was a war of words and pushes and shoves,” Titan Coach Al Mistri said. “The emotions got away. When they come back and say, ‘Did you see how hard I shoved her?’ that’s when you know that they have lost sight of the goal.

“I’m extremely disappointed because we were out of control at times and made some very bad mistakes. The red card, that was a very bad mistake, and to give up that type of goal. But you have to tip your hat to Irvine. They showed great heart and they never quit hustling.”

Irvine Coach Marine Cano was considerably more upbeat. “Sure, emotions were high, but we weren’t trying to hurt them and I don’t think they were trying to hurt us,” he said. “It just shows how far women’s soccer has come. With all the creativity and power the good teams have up front these days, and with coaches like myself and [Mistri] telling our defenders how tightly they have to mark, people are going to go in hard and sometimes they’re going to be late.

“This was a game that we felt we could have won and I’m sure they feel the same way. But I don’t think anyone who saw it could possibly say it wasn’t exciting.”