Bruins’ Strength Is in Numbers

There is strength in numbers and for the UCLA men’s soccer team, it is the number of goals that have powered the Bruins in the NCAA playoffs.

With seven goals in two playoff matches, UCLA has found the net more often than any of the eight remaining teams in the tournament. The offensive assault will be key when the Bruins face Penn State in the quarterfinals Saturday night at Drake Stadium.

Including a three-goal performance to end the regular season against Fresno State, UCLA (15-3-3) has scored 10 goals in its last three matches.

“It seems like we’re getting some momentum now,” UCLA Coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “It’s nice to be playing a high level of soccer this time of year.”

The Bruins have spread the wealth with five players totaling 12 points or more. Senior forward Tim Pierce (10 goals, seven assists) and junior forward Matt Taylor (eight goals, six assists) lead the team but Adolfo Gregorio, Cliff McKinley and Jimmy Frazelle have combined for 17 goals and 12 assists.

Playoff victories over Loyola Marymount and California have been indicative of their balance and depth. Gregorio scored twice, Aaron Lopez had one goal and McKinley scored in a 4-2 second-round win over the Lions. Lopez, McKinley and Taylor scored in a 3-2 third-round victory Saturday over the Golden Bears.

“Many other teams have one guy do a lot of their scoring but we’ve managed to spread it around a bit,” Fitzgerald said. “If one or two of our guys is in a slump or is struggling, we’ve got others that can put it in.”

Unlike the Bruins, Penn State (16-7-0) has largely relied on forward Chad Severs to do the bulk of its scoring. Severs has 17 goals on the season and has scored in each of the Nittany Lions’ last six matches.

In the postseason, Severs has had game-winning overtime goals against William & Mary and defending national champion North Carolina. Fitzgerald said he is leaning toward putting Lopez on him.

“He’s very opportunistic,” Fitzgerald said of Severs. “He’s a typical goal scorer in where he’ll be in the right place at the right time.”

A victory will put UCLA in the College Cup for the 11th time and first since losing to Indiana in the 1999 semifinals.

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Loyola Marymount is hosting the NCAA men’s water polo tournament for the first time at its two-year-old Burns Recreation Center. On Saturday, California plays Queens College (N.Y.) in one semifinal and defending national champion Stanford faces UC San Diego in the other with the winners playing in Sunday’s championship match.

Cal (19-6) won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title last weekend with a dramatic 9-8 victory over Pepperdine. Stanford (22-5) lost in the semifinals to the Golden Bears but got the at-large berth over the Waves on the strength of its No. 1 ranking for the majority of the season.

UC San Diego (19-11) qualified by winning the Western Water Polo Assn. title and Queens (24-3) comes in as the Collegiate Water Polo Assn. champion.