UCLA faces Pilots in preseason rematch

  BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior defender
Bethany Bogart prepares for a pass during Friday’s
exhibition game.

By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Reporter

Less than a year ago, Stephanie Rigamat’s goal in the 77th
minute of a 1-0 semifinal win over Portland vaulted the UCLA
women’s soccer team into the national title game for the
first time.

Saturday, at the Fila Classic in Fullerton, the Pilots (18-4-0
in 2000) will have revenge on their mind while the Bruins (19-4-1
in ’00) are out to prove last year was no fluke.

Add to the mix UCLA’s No. 2 ranking and Portland’s
No. 3 position in the National Soccer Coaches Association preseason
poll, and the match gives both squads an opportunity to make a
powerful early-season statement.

“We’ve talked about that all week,” UCLA Head
Coach Jillian Ellis said. “We’re going through the
preseason and it’s been hard and we’re going to hit the
ground running.”

The Pilots lost just three starters from last season’s
West Coast Conference Championship team and landed one of college
soccer’s most prized recruits in Christine Sinclair, a member
of the Canadian national team. Portland also returns Hermann Trophy
candidate Lauren Orlandos, a defender, and WCC co-player of the
year Erin Misaki, a midfielder.

“They have some great players,” Ellis said.
“What Portland’s great at is getting pressure in
numbers around the ball and winning games 1-0 or 2-0.”

But the Pilots will have their hands full with the Bruins, who
return eight starters from a team that allowed just 10 goals a year
ago and shut out opponents 17 times, a school record.

UCLA has added some firepower of its own in the offseason,
including transfer midfielder Mary-Frances Monroe and one of the
nation’s top freshman recruiting classes. The Bruin sophomore
class is also beaming with confidence after last season’s
playoff run.

“All of the freshmen (from last season) are more mature
now,” UCLA midfielder Sarah-Gayle Swanson said. “We
have more experience.”

Last season, the Bruins kicked off the year in a similar
tournament against equally daunting Clemson. That time, UCLA lost
1-0, only to return the favor in the quarterfinals of the NCAA
playoffs.

Against Portland, the Bruins seek to leave no early
doubters.

“We’ll be ready for them,” Swanson said.
“They’re going to be playing for revenge and we just
have to bring it.”