‘Eaters, Matadors up next for soccer

‘Eaters, Matadors up next for soccer

First place on line for No. 7 UCLA in MPSF matches

By Tim Costner

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

After an inauspicious 0-1 start in conference play, the UCLA
men’s soccer team will have a shot to move into first place this
weekend with victories over UC Santa Barbara and Cal State
Northridge.

The Bruins (10-1 overall, 2-1 in league) are currently second in
the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation behind the Gauchos (7-4,
2-0), but UCLA could take the lead with a win against UCSB tonight
at Spaulding Field.

"I think they’re a good team," UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid said
of the Gauchos. "They’re in first place which means that if we win,
we have a share of first and if we lose, we’re definitely out of
first. We haven’t really gotten to play at home this season and we
haven’t played on campus yet."

UCSB features two of the conference’s leading scorers ­
Ralph Robertson and Matt Arya ­ who are both among the MPSF’s
top 10.

Robertson is tied for the assist lead (with eight) and ­
with six goals ­ has 20 points overall. Arya is second in the
conference with 25 total points on 10 goals and five assists.

"Arya’s a good player," Schmid said. "He transferred out of
here, went to Santa Clara, went to Foothill and now he’s at Santa
Barbara to play for his brother. He’s very skillful, very talented
and has a good shot on goal. He’s the kind of player you sometimes
forget about, but who has the skills to finish and make you pay the
price."

* * *

In Sunday’s game against CSUN (6-5, 0-2), the Bruins are unsure
what type of team they will see. They may face a team that is
fighting to stay afloat in the conference or they may face a team
that will have nothing but pride to gain from beating UCLA.

It all depends on how they fare on Friday against UC Irvine.

"We beat them twice last year, so I’m sure they want to get a
piece of us," Schmid said. "They’re 0-2 in league, so depending on
how they do against Irvine, they come in with no pressure at all if
they’re 0-3 or they come into our game 1-2 and figuring this is
their last chance to get back into the race."

The Matadors lost key striker Armando Valdivia to graduation
last season, but have striker Keith Rosenberg to fill in that role
this season. Rosenberg is tied for ninth in scoring in the MPSF
with 17 points on seven goals and three assists.

* * *

Friday’s game is at 7:30 p.m. at Spaulding Field, while Sunday’s
match is at 2 p.m. on North Field. Admission to both games is
free.