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UCLA set to battle Pilots in Round of 8

Freshman midfielder Zakiya Bywaters dribbles away from Boise State’s Jayne Murray. The Bruins host No. 2 Portland Saturday evening in the NCAA quarterfinals.

By Rebecca Lee

Nov. 24, 2009 10:22 p.m.

As the UCLA women’s soccer team cruised through the first three rounds of the playoffs, Portland has been steadily knocking off its opponents.

With the two meeting in the round of 8 Saturday, the Bruins hope to continue cruising past the Pilots into a seventh-straight College Cup berth.

“I’m big on trying not to make games seem bigger than they are,” coach Jill Ellis said. “The players know what’s on the line for both teams. We’d love to go back to College Cup, and we know we have a very difficult opponent standing in the way.”

Coming off a 3-0 victory over Virginia last week, the top-seeded Bruins (20-2-1) host No. 2 Portland (21-1) at Drake Stadium in the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday.

Over the last decade, the Bruins and Pilots have garnered something of a rivalry.

This week’s match marks the sixth time the two teams have faced off in the postseason. UCLA owns a 7-1 overall advantage on the series and is 5-1 against Portland in the playoffs. But Portland’s one playoff win came in a 4-0 victory of the Bruins in the 2005 semifinals at College Station, Texas.

“It’s always been a terrific game ““ a very close, intense game,” Ellis said. “Good rivalry between the two schools. We have a lot of respect for them and their program and their program’s history.”

UCLA last played the Pilots in a 1-0 win during a regular season match in Portland, Oreg.

The UCLA-Portland series featured some thrilling matches with UCLA going 2-0 in 2007, winning 2-1 in overtime during a regular season match and 3-2 in double overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals at Drake Stadium.

“I don’t envision Saturday being anything less than a terrific game,” Ellis said.

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