Milburn’s Best Foot Forward Keeps UCLA Alive, Kicking

There was little question Tracey Milburn could excel as a college athlete, but most thought it would be as a basketball player, not as one of college soccer’s top forwards.

Milburn comes from a basketball family. Under the guidance of her father, Brent, the girls’ coach at Moorpark High, she twice earned All-Ventura County honors by The Times and helped the Musketeers win the Southern Section Division II-A title as a senior.

Her older sister, Tina, played alongside her at Moorpark and her younger sister, Taryn, is on the Musketeer varsity team.

Milburn, a four-sport All-Frontier League athlete, had the ability to play volleyball, basketball, soccer or softball in college. She chose soccer.

“Soccer is my favorite,” said Milburn, who played only one season of soccer in high school. “I always thought about playing other sports [in college], but I wasn’t heavily recruited.”

The junior forward has enjoyed her best season, leading UCLA to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the program’s seven-year history.

“When she’s on, she’s one of the best front players in the country,” UCLA Coach Jillian Elliss said. “She’s good with the ball at her feet. She can hold players off and is very strong on the ball.”

Milburn earned All-Pacific 10 Conference honors for the second consecutive season. The No. 14-ranked Bruins (15-4-1) can reach the NCAA quarterfinals with a victory Saturday over top-ranked Santa Clara.

“It’s much easier being the underdog, we’re not suppose to win,” Milburn said. “The team is really excited.”

Milburn is tied for second on the team in scoring with nine goals and six assists. She provided the goal in a 1-0 victory over Texas Christian on Oct. 3 and added a goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to force a 3-3 tie with Washington on Oct. 17th.

After receiving All-West Coast Conference honorable mention as a freshman at Pepperdine, Milburn transferred to UCLA in 1998.

“Pepperdine was too small of a school,” she said. “I wanted to go to a better soccer program.”

Milburn walked on to the Bruins’ basketball team in 1998, using a redshirt season because of NCAA transfer rules.

“I found out after I made [the team] I had to sit out,” she said. “It was hard. Knowing you’ll never get in, you lose motivation to practice harder.”

Milburn decided to concentrate on one sport and chose not to play basketball at UCLA this year.

“I want to concentrate on graduating on time,” she said. “My dad always knew I liked soccer better. The only thing he ever told me was to concentrate on one sport.”

*

Kelly Adamson’s late surge has kept Stanford alive. The senior scored two goals in the Cardinal’s 3-1 victory Saturday over Cal Poly San Luis Opispo in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 8-ranked Stanford’s quest for the NCAA championship continues today, when the Cardinal travels to South Bend, Ind., to face No. 5-ranked Notre Dame. The forward from Royal has eight goals and eight assists this season.

*

Aimee Thompson (La Reina) earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors in her sophomore year at Fresno State. The former Times’ all-region pick started all 17 games for the Bulldogs.

Fresno State’s season ended Nov. 10 with a 2-1 loss to San Luis Obispo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Michelle George (Chatsworth High) scored the first goal of the game for the Mustangs.

Thompson, Fresno State’s most consistent midfielder, scored three goals for the Bulldogs (14-6-2). She scored the game-winning goals against Utah State and Sacramento State.

*

Jessica Post (Harvard-Westlake) finished second in scoring for Dartmouth. The former Times’ all-region pick had five goals and three assists for the Big Green (10-8-1).

Dartmouth lost to Connecticut, 3-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The forward earned All-Ivy League honorable mention.

Post, former Mission League player of the year, scored in a 1-0 victory over Vermont on Sept. 22 and had goals in 2-1 losses to Syracuse on Sept. 13 and Harvard on Oct. 30.

The redshirt junior has one year of eligibility left after sitting out her sophomore season because of a knee injury. Post was the Ivy League rookie of the year in 1996.

*

Tammy Pivnick (Chaminade) bounced back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered late last season to help California to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Cal lost, 2-0, to Brigham Young in a first-round game on Nov. 10.

Pivnick played central defender for the Golden Bears (13-7-1).