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| Saturday, December 14, 2002 18:04 EST |
UCLA, Stanford to meet for third time
[Associated Press]
DALLAS -- Stanford needs to prove it's the best team in its
conference to become the best team in the country.
When the Cardinal take on Pac-10 rival UCLA in Sunday's NCAA
College Cup soccer championship, it will be their third meeting of
2002: The Bruins beat the Cardinal 1-0 twice in the regular season.
"We're excited to be playing them again. We're looking forward
to getting another shot,'' Stanford midfielder Abe Geiger said.
"We think there's some unfinished business.''
Stanford (18-4-2) almost didn't get a third shot at the Bruins.
Chad Marshall headed in a goal in double overtime to defeat
Creighton 2-1 in Friday's semifinals.
UCLA (17-3-3) is coming off a 2-1 semifinal win over Maryland.
Adolfo Gregorio scored on a penalty kick, and Matt Taylor scored
the go-ahead goal to give the Bruins the win over the Terrapins.
"It's difficult to beat a team three times in one season,''
UCLA coach Tom Fitzgerald said. "Instead of 'three times a charm,'
we're saying 'three times a trophy.'''
First-year Stanford coach Bret Simon said although his team has
had problems scoring goals at some points during the season, the
Cardinal's strategy against UCLA will be to create as many scoring
chances as possible.
"If we do the right things, the goals will come,'' Simon said.
The Cardinals still need to prove their recent failures against
the Bruins won't continue.
"Stanford has had a tough time beating us last couple of years,
and hopefully we can continue that tomorrow,'' UCLA goalkeeper Zach
Wells said.
Sunday's game should be a fast-paced, physical match.
"Every player on their team is really fast and really strong.
They're the best defensive team we've played all season,'' said
Stanford midfielder Johanes Maliza.
UCLA players said the size of the Stanford players will be a
factor in the game.
"I hate their trees in the back,'' said midfielder Jimmy
Frazelle, referring to 6-foot-4 Stanford defender Taylor Graham.
The UCLA team is a bit on the smaller side, with three 5-foot-7
players.
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