Taylor Misses His Shot at Homecoming Glory

UCLA’s Matt Taylor almost had a storybook homecoming two weeks ago at UC Irvine during the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime victory, but the freshman forward will settle for just a happy ending. If not for UCI goalkeeper Tyler Reid’s diving stop of Taylor’s smash from the right wing, it would have been the former Irvine High standout who scored the game-winning goal for the top-ranked Bruins (8-0).

“It just didn’t work out, but we still got the win and that’s what matters,” said Taylor, who has started five games. “It was still fun to be out here. There was a lot of beating up on each other.”

Four of the Bruins’ six Orange County players played against Irvine.

Scot Thompson, a sophomore from Trabuco Hills, played a solid game on defense. He had the tying goal--his third of the season--off a header last Sunday in UCLA’s 3-2 victory over St. Mary’s.

Tim Pierce, a redshirt freshman from Santa Margarita, played 30 minutes at forward against Irvine, and Cliff McKinley, a freshman from Fountain Valley, has a goal in three starts.

Ryan Futagaki, a junior midfielder from Fountain Valley and a member of the under-17, under-20 and under-23 national teams, had three goals and three assists last year. However, he injured his knee in an exhibition game this season against Loyola Marymount and has played only briefly in two games.

CANADIAN FOOTBALL

Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving Day and the British Columbia Lions host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League’s annual Turkey Bowl at B.C. Place Centre in Vancouver.

At quarterback for the Lions will be former Cal State Fullerton standout Damon Allen, a 15-year CFL veteran who has outlasted his alma mater’s team. Fullerton dropped football eight years ago.

Allen led the Titans to an 11-1 record in 1984. He began play in the CFL a year later and has played in three Grey Cups. He has passed for 49,236 yards, rushed for 9,388 yards and thrown 269 touchdowns in his career.

Three weeks ago, Allen was chosen CFL offensive player of the week and this season he has passed for 3,287 yards and 14 touchdowns for the second-place Lions.

MORE SOCCER

Vanguard’s Betsy Nienhuis, a native of La Palma who attended Cerritos Valley Christian High, recently earned Golden State Athletic Conference athlete of the week honors. She scored a career-high four goals in Vanguard’s 8-0 victory over The Master’s. Nienhuis notched another goal in a 5-1 victory over U.S. International.

The Chapman women’s soccer team is ranked No. 5 in the West Region and a lot of credit has to go to the play of Tiffany Willis (Laguna Beach) and Cary Groseclose (Fountain Valley). Each scored goals last week to lead the Panthers past Claremont, 2-1. Chapman hosts sixth-ranked Redlands today at 5.

Devin Kato, who played for Edison when it finished in a draw with Mater Dei in the 2000 Southern Section Division I boys’ soccer final, has started five games and played in all nine games for California (2-7).

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Staff writer Dave McKibben contributed to this story.

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