Soccer Notebook

Champs sign five

The defending NCAA champion UCLA men’s soccer team had
five recruits sign national letters of intent to join it on
Tuesday.

Three of the players are on the U.S. Under-18 National Team,
including Chad Barrett, Taylor Canel and Patrick Ianni.

Kiel McClung, a high school all-American and the 2002 CIF Player
of the Year, and Damon James, a member of the Olympic Development
Program’s Region IV team, round out the Bruins current
signees.

“I’m very excited we’ve signed these five
players,” head coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “When
we’re done, we should have one of the best recruiting classes
in the nation.”

Barrett, a forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Southridge HS), was
rated as one of the top ten recruits in the nation according to
Student Sports Magazine.

He also dreams of playing in the English Premier League, a goal
which originated while he lived in England from age 9 to 12.

“Living in England was the start of my soccer
career,” Barrett told the Portland Oregonian. “You eat,
sleep, drink soccer there.”

Ianni, a midfielder from Lodi, Calif. (Lodi HS), was also named
one of the top ten recruits. Ianni’s older brother, Tayt,
played with the Bruins from 1990 to 1993.

“Ianni and Barrett may have the biggest impact on our team
next year among the players we’ve signed,” Fitzgerald
said.

Canel, from Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Crespi HS), was the National
Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas California Player of
the Year.

All five players are currently competing in the Futuro Cup for
the ODP Region IV team.

They will take on the Corinthians in Águas de Lindóia,
Brazil.

Women’s soccer nets seven

Bristyn Davis, a forward from Locust Valley, N.Y., headlines a
winter recruiting class that brings seven women’s soccer
players to Westwood next year.

Davis was named Student Sports Magazine’s National Player
of the Year after registering 32 goals and 26 assists during her
senior season.

Stephanie Kron (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), considered the top
player to come out of Arizona this year, has club soccer experience
with the Sereno Golden Eagles.

“Kron and Davis will be competing for us right
away,” head coach Jillian Ellis said.

Mary Castelanelli (Tokay HS, Lodi), Caitlin Ursini (San Pedro
HS, San Pedro), Jessica Harris (El Camino HS, Woodland Hills),
Michelle Gleason (Lake Forest HS, El Toro) and Arianna Criscione
(St. Lucy’s Priory, Walnut) were the other signees.

“I’m very happy; it’s going to be a very
balanced class,” Ellis said. “Every player in this
class will have an impact here.”

Pryce to go to U.S. Team Camp

UCLA junior defender Nandi Pryce will be one of 24 players at a
camp for the U.S. National Team.

The training camp, which started yesterday, will be followed by
a friendly against Iceland on Sunday in Charleston, S.C.

The friendly will be the last match for the United States before
the Algarve Cup in Portugal, taking place from Mar. 14 to 20.

Compiled by Gilbert Quiñonez and J.P. Hoornstra, Daily
Bruin Senior Staff.