A fairy-tale ending

Monday, January 12, 1998

A fairy-tale ending

SOCCER:

By Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Staff

On Dec. 14, Cinderella was crowned in Richmond, Va.

The UCLA men’s soccer team, considering its fifth-seeded status
in the NCAA tournament, was viewed as the underdog entering the
Final Four.

Not only did the Bruins (22-2) have to go through the top two
seeds, but the clock seemed to strike midnight when two players
were lost to injury – midfielder Peter Vagenas with a right ankle
sprain and defender Kevin Coye with a torn medial collateral
ligament in the right knee – during playoff games against Clemson
and Santa Clara, respectively.

But after a legendary effort by goalkeeper Matt Reis and timely
counterattacks by forwards Seth George and McKinley Tennyson Jr.,
UCLA defeated top-seeded Indiana 1-0 in a draining and timeless
triple-overtime melodrama and then second-seeded Virginia 2-0 two
days later in the title match.

"This is the greatest feeling in the world," senior defender
Josh Keller said. "After not being able to play in the playoffs the
past two years (due to injuries), you can’t beat this."

Keller assisted on the title-winning goal and was named to the
all-tournament team along with five other Bruins.

George, named the Final Four most outstanding offensive player,
scored his first goal in the 80th minute. After both the sweeper
and a defender from Virginia (19-4-3) were caught up front and out
of position, Keller took a pass from midfielder Tom Poltl and found
forward Martin Bruno wide open. George’s roommate Bruno promptly
hit George on stride and, without hesitation, George angled the
shot from the left all the way across toward the right post.

Two minutes later a Cavalier defender got his foot on a Tennyson
shot. The deflection landed right in front of George and with a
simple tap the Bruins had a commanding 2-0 lead with only eight
minutes left.

The celebration had begun.

But it didn’t always look this promising. When UCLA star
midfielder Sasha Victorine tore the anterior cruciate ligament in
his left knee and was lost for the season in September, the Bruins
seemed out of sync. With Vagenas and Victorine sidelined, the
Bruins no longer had what head coach Sigi Schmid likes to call a
quarterback – a player capable of controlling the tempo of the
game.

But Schmid believed that the depth of this year’s squad was
enough to win the national championship. Scrappy players like Poltl
and Keller were moved around to make up for the absence of
Victorine and Vagenas.

The Bruins now had to make an effort to play a tighter defensive
game and to never get out-worked. To remind his players of their
tenacity, Schmid went as far as to inscribe the words "You Gotta Be
a Soldier" in the locker room before every playoff game.

From then on, no UCLA player could be cited for a lack of
effort.

"Everybody got in and pitched in and did whatever they needed to
do to make this a success," Schmid said. "I think that was the mark
of our team. It was a team where everybody helped each other out
throughout this game and throughout the entire season."

Even Betsy Stephenson, UCLA’s associate athletic director,
joined in the festivities. The night before the ball (otherwise
known as the title match), the NCAA demanded that UCLA’s
long-sleeve shirts be changed from white to blue – the same color
as their uniform.

Unable to find blue long-sleeve shirts in Richmond, Stephenson
spent Saturday night using tie-dye in the hotel’s washing machine
to change white shirts into blue.

Finally, at 1 p.m. EST, the Bruins took the field with their new
garments like Cinderella entering the ballroom floor. All
condescending eyes were on them, as many Virginia fans made the one
hour trek to Richmond to support the Cavaliers.

But after trips to Saint Louis and Fullerton, the Bruins were
not overwhelmed by the 20,143 screaming fans.

"We’ve faced hostile crowds before," Schmid explained. "We have
a saying that there is nothing like quieting a crowd that’s for the
other team."

The Bruins quieted the crowd in the Final Four with their
defense and especially Reis’ uncanny ability to get his hand on the
ball.

A back-row composed of sweeper Steve Shak and defender Carlos
Bocanegra and Jimmy Conrad made it virtually impossible for the
opposition to penetrate the middle. The frustration that came with
a lack of scoring led Virginia to lose their concentration and be
susceptible to UCLA’s counterattack.

"I think we got a little impatient," Cavalier head coach George
Gelnovatch said. "I think we really wanted to throw numbers forward
and really try to make something happen. And I think that in doing
that against a team like this … you’re playing with fire."

Virginia had plenty of quality scoring opportunities – the best
of them involving midfielder Ben Olsen.

With about five minutes left in the first half, Olsen found a
wide-open forward Brian West streaking down the middle.

But Reis anticipated the pass and by charging West he was able
to deflect the ball wide of the net. The second chance came in the
52nd minute when midfielder Jason Moore found a rare hole in the
Bruin defense and Olsen’s pass left Moore with only Reis to beat.
Once again, though, Reis anticipated the pass and slid feet first
at Moore outside of the penalty box to deny Virginia one more
time.

After the game, Olsen was asked what the Cavaliers could have
done to score against Reis – the Final Four defensive MVP.

"I don’t know," Olsen said. "I mean, we tried. We had a couple
of good chances and he stopped them. He was definitely the most
valuable player of the game."

At the end of their tale, it was obvious that Reis turned out to
be UCLA’s fairy godmother. In the playoffs he allowed only one goal
in five matches and 492 minutes – a little over eight hours.

"He’s the guy who gets the whole team going," George said. "When
he’s in a zone, we’re in a zone. When he made that first huge save,
there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win."

And they celebrated happily ever after.

The Associated Press

UCLA forward Seth George (right) hugs teammate Nick Paneno (13)
after their 2-0 win over Virginia in the NCAA Division 1 Men’s
Soccer Championship in Richmond, Va., Dec. 14, 1997.