The gun will sound Friday night at 7 p.m., and if the No.5 UCLA
women’s soccer team doesn’t sprint out of the gates, it
might already be too far behind.
Pac-10 play begins with an emphatic bang against two perennial
conference frontrunners, as No. 6 California (7-2-1) comes to Drake
Stadium Friday and the Bruins (8-2) host second-ranked Stanford
(9-1) Sunday.
“Every two years we hit this cycle, playing these two
teams first,” UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis said. “I
think it’s good, because we’ve played tough teams in
the nonconference part of our season.”
Ellis was hesitant to stress this weekend’s slate of games
more than any other in the competitive Pac-10, but the defending
conference champion Bruins likely need at least one victory to keep
pace.
UCLA swept Cal and Stanford in the final weekend of last
season’s schedule to secure first place in the Pac-10 and a
No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but 2002 is an evolving
challenge.
“I think every year teams are getting stronger, including
those in our conference,” Ellis said. “Stanford has the
exact same team as last year, and they played very well last
year.”
Indeed.
Stanford would have come into Westwood with the nation’s
top ranking, but the Cardinal lost to North Carolina 1-0 last
weekend in the Saint Mary’s Classic.
And Cal, a team the Bruins have historically had solid success
against, is in the top five with wins over 2001 national champion
Santa Clara and No. 6 Texas A&M.
But the Bruins see it more as an opportunity than a cause for
concern.
“In the past three years, we’ve gained so much
respect nationally as a conference,” junior defender Nandi
Pryce said. “And after winning the Pac-10 last year, to play
these two teams to start is awesome.”