M. soccer meets SMU in NCAAs
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 22, 1994 9:00 p.m.
M. soccer meets SMU in NCAAs
Bruins travel to Dallas
to take on Mustangs in
second-round matchup
By Tim Costner
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Two weeks ago, the UCLA men’s soccer team looked as though it
was on the brink of another fiasco in the NCAA Championships.
But almost overnight, the outlook has improved dramatically for
the No. 7 Bruins, who gained a great deal of momentum last Sunday
with a clutch, overtime win against Alabama-Birmingham in the first
round.
And the way things are shaping up in the Southern bracket, the
Bruins are on the verge of hosting the third round of the NCAAs
 the last step to the Final Four in Davidson, N.C.
Two of the top four seeds in the Southern region  North
Carolina-Charlotte and South Carolina  both took a first
round exit last weekend, and with the third-seeded Bruins facing
second-seeded Southern Methodist in Dallas on Sunday, things are
looking hopeful for UCLA.
Hopeful that is, if the Bruins can take a win from SMU, which
they did easily last year, 4-0, in Dallas.
"Anybody you play right now is going to be a dangerous
opponent," UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid said in the post-game press
conference on Sunday. "They’re going to be motivated for sure since
we went back and pretty much spanked them last year at their place.
I think that was one of their worst-ever defeats."
UCLA forward Robbie LaBelle scored a hat trick in the game, but
No. 8 SMU appears to have a much better defense this year, having
allowed only 15 goals, while scoring 49. The Bruins have allowed 17
goals  including six in the last four games  while
scoring 49.
But UCLA should show steady improvement with each game,
according to Schmid.
"I think people have to understand with our team we’re going to
get better each week," Schmid said. "We’ve only had two players on
our team who have played every game. The team that was out there
(Sunday) was the first time that we’ve used that particular
formation. I think with each day in practice, we’ll get better and
better."
UCLA defender Frankie Hejduk agrees.
"It was all about just getting our team chemistry back," Hejduk
said in the press conference. "In the beginning of the year we went
11-0 and we had the chemistry going but we lost it towards the end.
But we had a good practice last week and we’re ready to go. We’ve
got our confidence back up a bit."
* * *
Among other teams to exit from the first round last Sunday was
Fresno State, which handed the Bruins their two most recent
losses.
