Bruins prepare for Women’s Cup

  Daily Bruin File Photo Senior Breana
Boling strides past an opponent last season. The Bruins
play LMU tonight at 7:30.

By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Reporter

Princeton head coach Julie Shackford knows exactly what she and
her No. 25 Tigers are getting into this weekend when they come to
Westwood for the inaugural UCLA Women’s Cup.

That may not be such a good thing.

Shackford is the best friend and former William & Mary
teammate of UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis and knows well that
Princeton’s Sunday matchup with No. 2 UCLA (7-0-0) will
likely be her team’s toughest of the season.

“The UCLA game is a chance for our kids to see what the
next level looks like,” Shackford said. “We’ll be
playing against one of the best teams in the country.”

But both Ellis’ opinion and the Tigers’ impressive
6-0-0 start suggest Shackford shouldn’t exactly sell her team
short.

“She’s way too humble about her teams,” Ellis
said. “They’re undefeated, and they sit on top of the
Ivy League, which is a good conference. Princeton is a ranked
opponent and we afford them the respect of any ranked
opponent.”

The weekend event is the first of its kind for the women’s
soccer team and is equivalent to the Pacific Soccer Classic hosted
by the men’s team.

Also participating are local foes Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and
Loyola Marymount, UCLA’s opponent tonight and Women’s
Cup co-host.

“It’s an effort to bring quality national opponents
to our campus and allow another local team (LMU) to share in that
opportunity and play great competition,” said UCLA associate
athletic director Betsy Stephenson.

According to Stephenson, UCLA has previously hosted individual
games in conjunction with tournaments held at USC when the Trojans
had facility conflicts. But Ellis approached the athletic
department and felt the time was right for the Bruins to host a
tournament of their own, especially after last year’s
breakthrough national championship game appearance.

“We wanted to establish some tradition here,” Ellis
said. “Most of the top 10 teams have a tournament and we felt
that we’re enough of a soccer school that we should hold
one.”

While the game against undefeated and ranked Princeton may have
the biggest national implications, Friday night’s match
against nearby LMU (3-5-0) should bring a sizable crowd to
Spaulding Field. The Bruins are 5-0-0 all-time against the Lions
and have not lost a home game for two years, last losing to BYU in
a 1998 NCAA second-round match.

Compounding the Herculean task facing LMU is a UCLA defense that
has given up only two goals in seven games. The Lion offense has
struggled just to get on the board, suffering shutouts in three of
its five losses and managing just over one goal per game in its
first eight contests.

LMU’s only hope against an overwhelmingly deep and speedy
UCLA squad will be in sneaking an unexpected goal past Bruin
goalkeeper CiCi Peterson and holding on for dear life behind a
heavily fortified defense.

Shackford doesn’t envy LMU’s position.

“We’re glad that we’re playing UCLA in its
second home game and not its first home game,” she said.
“I feel sorry for LMU.”

Shackford’s Tigers kick off the Women’s Cup when
they take on Cal Poly this afternoon and try to run their
undefeated streak to seven.

Princeton had yet to surrender a single goal before
Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Rutgers and is an odds-on favorite to
repeat as Ivy League Champions.

Shackford said this year’s Tiger squad is different from
those in years past. Instead of having to rely solely on ball
control and team defense, this season Princeton has the luxury of
some individual standouts who can take over games.

Unfortunately for Shackford, her best friend’s starting
team is comprised of 11 such standouts. Ellis looks forward to
coaching against Shackford for the first time and considers her an
especially close confidant.

But will she let up at all on account of friendship on
Sunday?

“Heck no,” Ellis said, laughing.