UCLA running away with soccer jersey vote

Top Drawer Soccer put together a bracket and invited the public to vote for the best college soccer jersey in America. UCLA is in the final round against Wake Forest and needs your vote (well, sorta' ... as of this posting, UCLA leads with 84%). Voting will end Sunday.

The Bruins cruised through their first four rounds, defeating Loyola Marymount (with 63% of the vote), Cal Poly (58%), UC Irvine (81%) and Harvard (90%). Of the 6,781 votes cast so far for UCLA, 4,283 were in the second round against Cal Poly.

The all-time greatest soccer jersey of all time, at any level, remains anything worn by Jorge Campos.

—Adam Rose

Help UCLA men's soccer beat Cal Poly

When it comes to sartorial splendor in soccer, there's no topping Jorge Campos. But who has the best jersey in the college game?

Top Drawer Soccer set up an online bracket to answer that question, and the Bruins need your help to make it through round two. They've already cruised past Loyola Marymount, but face formidable opposition from Cal Poly.

Voting for this round ends Dec. 14. If UCLA makes it through, UC Irvine and South Florida will be their next opponents to determine who represents the West in the final four.

Cal Poly got a lot of support in the first round, so it's up to you to send them off early (kind of like you see in the picture to the right).

—Adam Rose

Photos: UCLA Athletics

Bruins trip Trojans in women's soccer

A belated tip o' the hat to the UCLA women's soccer team, which defeated USC, 2-1, on Friday night at the Coliseum. Kristina Larsen scored twice for the Bruins, sandwiched around a goal by USC's Megan Ohai.

The much anticipated showdown was played before a crowd of 7,804. Although not quite what they were hoping for, it was the second-largest crowd to ever watch a women's college soccer game outside of the NCAA tournament and was the largest crowd ever for a Pac-10 conference game.

Both teams entered the game in the top 10 and could very well cross paths again in this year's College Cup.

Speaking of the NCAA tournament, UCLA's Sydney Leroux will be unavailable because of a commitment to the national team for the U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile.

Bruin Coach Jill Ellis is a national team assistant and has been very supportive of letting college players miss time to compete at the international level. Four years ago, a pair of UCLA's best players redshirted so they could play in the U-19 World Championships in Thailand.

Fun fact: Leroux used to play internationally for Canada but is now an American citizen. Unlike in men's soccer, which uses an age cutoff, women are allowed to switch allegiances until they receive a cap (i.e., appear in a game) with the full national team.

—Adam Rose

Rivalry game means more than ever

Records and pride are on the line Friday night at the Coliseum.

The Women of Troy will play host to UCLA in what should be the most intriguing soccer game Los Angeles will see all year. You'll be there if you love the sport, and if you made the mistake of hopping on the Beckham bandwagon, here's your chance to repent. (Seriously, the Galaxy has two wins in the last four months and David Beckham is scoring a zero on the zeitgeist here in L.A.) At least Chivas USA will make the postseason — but the Trojans and Bruins are legit national title contenders. Again.

Last year, UCLA won the Pac-10 and was a heavy favorite to hoist the NCAA championship trophy for the first time. The Bruins beat USC in the regular season and historically dominate the series, but were derailed by the upstart Trojans in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament — which USC won for its first ever title.

Each team boasts a gold medalist. USC's Amy Rodriguez and UCLA's Lauren Cheney teamed up in the Olympics this summer and became friends. Both have a big scoring punch and can go blow-for-blow on the scoreboard. But it won't be easy for either.

Each team boasts a shut-down threat. The Bruins have a practically impenetrable defense, leading the nation with just a pair of goals allowed through 15 games. One of those was in the season opener, so that's just one goal in the last 14 games.

UCLA is led by Erin Hardy, Lauren Wilmoth and Lauren Barnes, who all play on youth national teams. USC counters with a pair of big-time net minders, including Kristin Olsen (who was a finalist for last season's national player of the year awards) and Brittany Massro. They combined for 15 shutouts in 2007.

Each team boasts excellent coaching. UCLA's Jillian Ellis has built one of the nation's elite programs in Westwood, and also serves as an assistant coach for the national team (she joined Rodriguez and Cheney in Beijing). On the other bench, Ali Khosroshahin won the national title in his first season at USC, and was a no-brainer pick for national coach of the year — winning the honor in three publications.

Each team boasts a top-10 ranking and aspirations to play for the national championship. Each team is loaded with players who could make it to the professional ranks (the new women's league kicks off this year and had a pair of Bruins taken in the first round of the inaugural draft). Each team is just darn good.

If that's not enough reason to go (trust me, it is), the schools are hoping to play in front of an NCAA record crowd. The game is being held in the Coliseum because it is hoped that there will be more than 15,000 fans in attendance. The previous attendance record for a women's soccer game was 14,410 for a national title bout between North Carolina and Notre Dame in 1999. UCLA once played before a crowd of 9,566 in the 2000 national championship game.

You could be a part of history — and help take away home field advantage (USC's women's team rarely plays in the Coliseum anyway!). Tickets are just $7 for adults and $5 for kids; it should be a great game for the entire family. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

—Adam Rose

Photo by Sam Haythorn

Bruins nominated for soccer honors

The NCAA Men's College Cup is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season and will name an all-star soccer squad representing the best 11 players and top coach of the last half century. Three Bruins are on the ballot, including:

• Sigi Schmid: He was an assistant coach at UCLA in 1977 and 1979 before becoming head of the program in 1980. Schmid's record over 19 seasons at UCLA was 322-63-33 en route to winning three NCAA College Cups, in 1985, 1990 and 1997. He also was named  Coach of the Year in 1997 by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.
• Paul Caligiuri: During his four seasons with the Bruins, he earned the coaches association's first team All-America (1985 and 1986) accolades. He also captained the Bruins to an NCAA championship in his junior year. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
• Brad Friedel (pictured): Over his three seasons at UCLA, Friedel established himself as one of the greatest collegiate goalkeepers. In 1990, he backstopped the Bruins to the NCAA championship. He was selected as the first team All-America goalkeeper in 1991 and 1992 and won the MAC/Hermann Trophy in 1992 as the top collegiate soccer player.

You can click here to vote.

Surprisingly absent is Cobi Jones, one of the nation's most legendary soccer figures. His college career started slow (he was a walk-on), but Jones finished as an All-American and led UCLA to the 1990 NCAA Championship.

Players selected for the team will be honored in December at the 2008 NCAA Men's College Cup in Frisco, Texas.

—Adam Rose

Photo: UCLA Athletics

Traditional soccer powers clash

The UCLA men's soccer team hopes to keep its unbeaten record alive at Drake Stadium this season when it plays host to Indiana at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Bruins and Hoosiers are two of the most successful programs in NCAA history, combining for 11 national championships in the last three decades. UCLA has produced more MLS and National Team players than any other school (50 and 35, respectively). Indiana has sent 24 to the MLS and seen 15 capped by the U.S.

UCLA will look to even-up the all-time series at eight games each after falling last year by one goal on the road.

The Bruins kicked off this season with a disappointing 2-1 overtime loss to Maryland at Home Depot Center, followed by a 3-0 victory over Riverside at Drake Stadium. Last week at Wake Forest, UCLA fell 3-0 to the tournament host before tying North Carolina 1-1 in double overtime.

—Adam Rose

Photo: Blast from the past! UCLA's Eddie Lewis battles Indiana's Brandon Ward in the 1994 NCAA semifinals.

Credit: Chuck Burton / Associated Press

Olympic soccer rosters

For any footie fanatics out there, a number of Bruins will be representing the U.S. this summer in the world's most popular sport. On the men's side, three UCLA alumni made the 18-man Olympic soccer team roster: Benny Feilhaber (2003-04), Patrick Ianni (2003-05) and Marvell Wynne (2004-05). Bruin Frankie Hejduk (1992-94) also was named as an alternate.

On the women's side, a bad break for Abby Wambach means a big break for UCLA's Lauren Cheney. Wambach is out of the Olympics after surgery this morning to fix a broken leg. She will be replaced by Cheney, who has been training with the national squad all year. She could form a very young but potent scoring duo with crosstown rival Amy Rodriguez.

Sunday syllabus: the week that was and the week ahead

The Bruin men’s basketball team is heading back to the Final Four once again, but there was a lot of other important action this week:

Baseball:

>> Last week: What to make of this 2008 UCLA baseball team? After losing three in a row to Long Beach State, the Bruins dropped from No. 11 in the nation to No. 23 and then lost another game, at San Diego State on Tuesday, 6-3 (Matt Drummond, 0-2, took the loss). But then UCLA went to Tucson for a three-game series against No. 6 Arizona and wins two in a row: 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday night (third baseman Jermaine Curtis had four hits and Drummond, 2-1, won in relief) and 20-8 on Saturday thanks to a 7-for-7, four RBI and four runs scored day by first baseman Casey Haerther (Charles Brewer, 3-2, got the win).

>> This week: The Bruins (12-9, 2-0 Pac-10) finish their series with Arizona today in Tucson, then head home for a 13-game homestand, starting with San Diego State on Tuesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. Then UCLA will square off with rival USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).

Football:

>> This week: Spring football starts on Spaulding Field on campus April 3 and will continue through April 26 with the Spring game at the Rose Bowl. This week’s practices are open to the public, starting at 3:55 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.

Rowing:

>> Last week: The Bruins debuted at No. 13 in the national rankings and are in Redwood Shores, Calif., this weekend for the Pac-10 Challenge against three top 10 teams in Virginia, Ohio State and California on Saturday and Sunday.

>> This week: The Bruins will be in the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay on Saturday and Sunday.

Softball:

>> Last week: UCLA is now the top-ranked team in the nation and won its first two Pac-10 games convincingly this weekend. UCLA defeated Oregon State, 3-0, on Friday (Anjelica Selden, 14-2, got the win) and then freshman Donna Kerr lowered her ERA to 0.48 and improved to 12-1 with a 2-0 shutout of Oregon on Saturday. Megan Langenfeld picked up saves by pitching scoreless seventh innings in both games.

>> This week: UCLA (30-3) faces Oregon again today at Easton Stadium at noon, then has four more home games coming up this week: Washington on Wednesday, Stanford on Friday and California on Saturday and Sunday.

>> Of note: Four Bruins were named to the American team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this August: catcher Stacey Nuveman, first baseman Tairia Mims Flowers, third baseman Andrea Duran and shortstop Natasha Watley. Triple gold medalist pitcher Lisa Fernandez was not selected for the team, but is listed as an injury replacement; she had taken three years off from softball to start her family and did not regain her earlier form. The U.S. Team will face the Bruins in an exhibition on Tuesday evening, April 22, at Easton Stadium.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: UCLA (35-3) has won 14 straight games and is heading to San Antonio for the Final Four, the third season in a row that the Bruins will play in the national semifinals. UCLA defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78, on Thursday, cruising to a 21-point lead at half and then holding on after a furious rally by the Hilltoppers. On Saturday, UCLA defeated Xavier, 76-57, building a nine-point edge at halftime and then extending the lead behind 19 points each from Kevin Love and Darren Collison.

>> This week: The Bruins will play Saturday in one national semifinal and if they win, will play for the national championship on Monday, April 7.

Men’s Golf:

>> Last week: Third-ranked UCLA led after 18 holes, but fell to seventh in the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga. The top Bruin finisher was senior Kevin Chappell, who tied for 10th. In a separate tournament, five individual Bruins competed in the Cal Poly Men’s Intercollegiates with freshman Philip Francis tying for seventh in the best finish by a UCLA golfer.

>> This week: UCLA remains in the south and will play in the Administaff Augusta State Invitational at the Champions Retreat Golf Course in Augusta, Ga., beginning Friday.

Men’s Soccer:

>> Last week: Five Bruins made up a quarter of the U.S. Under-23 National Team squad that qualified for the Beijing Olympic tournament at last week’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Defenders Kamani Hill (2004-05), Patrick Ianni (2003-05) and Marvell Wynne (2004-05) and forwards Chad Barrett (2003-04) and Sal Zizzo (2005-06) were all on the squad and at least one Bruin started in every game. The U.S. finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, won Group A and allowed just two goals while scoring six.

Men’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked sixth in the nation and looked like it this past week, shutting out Loyola Marymount, 7-0, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday, then winning its opening Pac-10 matches easily, stomping No. 20 Washington, 6-1, in Seattle on Friday and Oregon, 6-1, in Eugene on Saturday.

>> This week: UCLA has won nine matches in a row and is 15-1 on the season. Next up are California and Stanford in matches to be played Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, starting at 1:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Men’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked seventh in the nation in the U.S. Track Coaches Assn.’s pre-season poll and then racked up 238 points to win the Cal/Nevada Championships easily in a two-meet in Fresno. Senior John Caulfield threw a lifetime best of 197-10 -– best in the nation so far -– to win the discus and he also won the shot put with a seasonal best of 62-7 3/4. UCLA won seven events in all, including Henry Hagenbuch’s lifetime-best 3:50.65 in the 1500 m; Boldizsar Kocsor’s win in the hammer (217-3), Elijah Wells in the 400 m (48.02), Jonathan Clark in the triple jump at 49-9 1/4 and vaulter Johnny Quinn with a lifetime best of 17-0 3/4.

>> This week: UCLA will send selected individuals to the Texas Relays in Austin.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: No. 8 UCLA is putting on a performance this season that would make both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proud. Fresh off an upset of No. 1 BYU, the Bruins lost to UC San Diego for the first time ever Friday, losing the match in five sets. UCLA had won 44 in a row over the Tritons. Then on Saturday, the Bruins stopped No. 3 Long Beach State in four games and snapped a five-game losing streak at the Walter Pyramid, led by 6-9 hitter Sean O’Malley with 19 kills.

>> This week: The Bruins are now 15-11 overall and 10-8 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, residing in fifth place. UCLA will play UC Santa Barbara in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday and then face MPSF leader Cal State Northridge on Friday, also in Pauley.

Women’s Basketball:

>> Last week: UCLA senior Lindsey Pluimer was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team for the third year in a row. In addition to being an All-Conference first-team selection on the court, she was honored for her 3.71 grade-point average in Communications Studies. Sophomore guard Erica Tukiainen received honorable mention.

Women’s Golf:

>> This week: The second-ranked Bruins head back into action this week in the PING/ASU Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe on Friday. It’s their last tournament before the Pac-10 Championships on April 21-23.

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> Last week: Defending champion UCLA finished third in the Pac-10 Conference Championships in Seattle, finishing behind Stanford and Oregon State after a fall on the final rotation of the meet. Tasha Schwikert was UCLA’s only individual winner, taking her seventh career Pac-10 title, with a share of the uneven bars title with a 9.95.

>> This week: The Bruins are off; next up is the NCAA Regionals on April 12.

>> Of note: Freshman Brittani McCullough, whose season ended due to injury back on March 9, was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Four Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team, including juniors Ariana Berlin and Kristina Comforte and senior Tasha Schwikert on the second team, and senior Natalie Padilla as honorable mention.

Women’s Swimming:

>> Last week: Ten Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic teams, including first-team selections Tess Schofield (Communication Studies, 3.83 grade-point average) and Katherine Wong (History, 3.72). All-American Nicolette Teo (Anthropology, 3.58), Ellen Brooks (Art History, 3.57) and Kristen Fischer (Comm Studies, 3.57) each earned second-team honors. Honorable Mention recognition was given to Shannon Hackett, Brittany Hill, Julie Imagane, Marisa Samaniego and Chiemi Yamamoto.

Women’s Tennis:

>> Last week: Eighth-ranked UCLA had a good week, blanking Hawaii in Honolulu, 7-0 on Tuesday and then starting Pac-10 play with a 7-0 whitewash of Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was Bruin Coach Stella Sampras Webster’s 200th career win in her 12 seasons in Westwood (200-102).

>> This week: The Bruins are now 14-4 and head north for matches with No. 7 California in Berkeley in Friday and fifth-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday.

Women’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked sixth in the nation in the coaches’ pre-season poll and finished second at the Cal/Nevada Championships in Fresno. The Bruins had three winners over the two-day event, including freshman Lindsay Rowe in the 100 m hurdles in a lifetime best of 13.74, senior high jumper Allie Miller (5-7) and the 4 x 400 m relay team of Chanelle Curry, Krystin Lacy, Ashlea McLaughlin and Nicole Leach (3:39.30).

>> This week: The Bruins will send some athletes to the Stanford Invitational.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA scored an impressive 9-3 win over Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday, led by Courtney Mathewson’s three-goal performance. The Bruins are now 22-0 on the season and 8-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

>> This week: UCLA will entertain California at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Friday, followed by a match with Pacific on Saturday, both starting at 1 p.m.

Sunday syllabus: the week that was and the week ahead

A soggy weekend ruined some of the schedule, but for the Bruin men’s basketball team, things couldn’t be sunnier!

Baseball:

>> Last week: The Bruins finally got to play, but the schedule was re-arranged thanks to the weather. After a Friday rainout, UCLA opened its season Saturday with a dramatic 7-5 win over Oklahoma as right fielder Gabe Cohen blasted a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. Freshman Dan Klein (1-0) got the win. In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Sooners came back to defeat UCLA, 3-2, in 12 innings. Starter Tim Murphy held Oklahoma to two runs in six innings and Brendan Lafferty pitched four innings of scoreless ball, but Klein gave up a run in the top of the 12th and took the loss (1-1).

>> This week: The Sunday game with Oklahoma was rained out, so the Bruins will play next on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium against Cal State Northridge and Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara. Game time for both is 6 p.m. On Friday, UCLA will host Southern at Jackie Robinson Stadium (6 p.m.) and then play Bethune-Cookman on ESPN2 on Saturday at 5 p.m. UCLA will have its first meeting of the season with USC at Dedeaux Field on Sunday, March 2 at 1 p.m.

Football:

>> Last week: UCLA confirmed last week that Eric Scott is no longer on the football staff and that Reggie Moore will be the wide receivers coach in 2008.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: The Bruins began the week ranked No. 6 in the nation and they will move up thanks to defeats of teams ahead of them (Memphis, Kansas, Duke) and two wins against Oregon State (84-49) and Oregon (75-65). In Saturday’s game, UCLA (24-3, 12-2 Pac-10) trailed for almost 31 minutes and was down, 48-37, before dominating the final 13 minutes of the game, outscoring the Ducks, 38-17, to end the game.

>> This week: The Bruins head to Arizona for games against Arizona State (17-9, 7-7) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and against Arizona (17-10, 7-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Men’s Golf:

>> Last week: The second-ranked Bruins finished second to No. 4 Alabama in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra, Fla., early in the week. UCLA soph Jason Kang tied for second at 214 (-2) for the three rounds and defending champion Kevin Chappell tied for 12th.

>> This week: The Bruin "Blue Team" (second squad) will play in the Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational at Seven Oaks Country Club on Monday and Tuesday.

Men’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The sixth-ranked Bruins had both of their matches canceled, against Arizona State and Arizona. Because these matches do not count in the Pac-10 standings, they will not be made up.

>> This week: Weather permitting, the Bruins (7-1) will be back in action Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. UCLA will also send teams to the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in La Jolla, being held from Friday through Sunday.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: UCLA (10-7, 7-6 in MPSF play) has lost four of its last six Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches, losing twice this past week at UC Santa Barbara and at Cal State Northridge, both times in four sets. Sophomore Garrett Muagututia had a career night against the Matadors, hitting .480 with 31 kills, but UCLA failed to close out the third set despite having three set points and then lost the fourth set, 30-28.

>> This week: UCLA finishes its midseason, six-game road trip with two matches against Ball State in Muncie, Ind., on Friday and Saturday.

Women’s Basketball:

>> Last week: UCLA split two games on the road, defeating Oregon State in Corvallis, 55-52, on Thursday night and then dropping a 66-55 decision to Oregon at McArthur Court in Eugene on Saturday. As usual, senior Lindsay Pluimer led the Bruins in scoring in both games, with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

>> This week: The Bruins (14-13, 9-7 for fifth in the Pac-10) complete their regular-season schedule at home against Arizona State (17-9, 11-4 for 3rd in Pac-10) on Thursday night and against Arizona (9-18, 3-13 for 9th in Pac-10) on Saturday at 11 a.m. In the first meetings, UCLA lost to Arizona State and defeated Arizona on the road.

Women’s Golf:

>> This week: The No. 1-ranked women’s golf team will find out just how good it is starting Monday at the Wildcat Invitational in Tuscon. A total of 12 of the top 25 teams in the nation will compete, including No. 2 Duke (three-time defending NCAA champions), No. 3 Arizona State and No. 4 USC. UCLA boasts three players ranked in the top ten in the nation: All-American Tiffany Joh (5th) and freshmen Maria Jose Uribe (7th) and Glory Yang (9th).

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> Last week: The ninth-ranked Bruins eased past Arizona, 196.575 to 196.050, in Tucson to run their record to 12-0.

>> This week: No. 2-ranked Utah (8-0) comes to Pauley Pavilion today at 2 p.m. in a major test for the Bruins. The match will be Webcast live on the All-Access section of the uclabruins.com site (registration required).

Women’s Soccer:

>> Last week: UCLA’s sophomore scoring machine, Lauren Cheney, made the U.S. National Team for the Algarve Cup in Portugal from March 5-12. If she plays well, she has an opportunity to be part of the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in April in Juarez, Mexico.

Women’s Softball:

>> Last week: UCLA is ranked fifth in the nation and has been busy at the Palm Springs Classic. The Bruin defeated Massachusetts, 4-2, and No. 18 Georgia, 5-2, on Friday and then followed up with two impressive wins Saturday. First, Anjelica Selden tossed a four-hitter as UCLA stomped No. 10 Baylor, 6-1, and then freshman Donna Kerr pitched a one-hit shutout as the Bruins cruised past No. 14 Hawaii, 3-0, in the nightcap. Selden improved to 6-1 on the season while Kerr is now 5-1 with a 0.88 ERA.

>> This week: UCLA (12-2) finishes up in the Coachella Valley with a game against No. 2 Northwestern today, then hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday at Easton Stadium. The Bruins then head south to the San Diego Invitational for five games in three days from Friday through Sunday.

Women’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The seventh-ranked Bruins were rained out against Arizona State on Friday, but defeated Arizona in Tucson, 6-1, yesterday to improve to 8-1 on the season.

>> This week: UCLA will take on Arizona State today in Tempe, weather permitting, and then start a busy week at home: Baylor on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., Stanford (5-1) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and California (3-2) on Saturday beginning at noon.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> Last week: No. 1-ranked UCLA drowned Cal State Northridge, 12-4, and No. 9 Loyola Marymount. 11-6, on Saturday at the UC Irvine Invitational. Katie Rulon had four goals in the opener and Brittany Rowe added three goals against LMU to lead UCLA.

>> This week: UCLA (16-0) zipped past No. 5 Cal, 9-4 this morning and will play in the tournament championship match this afternoon at 5:15 p.m. Courtney Mathewson, Rowe and Anne Belden each had two goals for UCLA and goalkeeper Brittany Fullen had 11 saves. The Bruins have only one other match this week, at UC Santa Barbara next Saturday at noon.

Bruin SportsWire: Wearing the red, white and blue

It’s said that there is no off-season for sports any more. That’s certainly true for some of the Bruins as four stars from UCLA’s fall women’s teams are in training with the U.S. National Teams.

Football:

>> UCLA announced today that the home game against Arizona scheduled for Sept. 27 has been moved to Sept. 20 at the request of television. The Bruins will now play Fresno State, Tennessee, at BYU and Arizona on consecutive weekends before their first bye.

>> Bruin fullback Michael Pitre, lost for the entire 2007 season due to injury, is filing for a sixth year of eligibility with the NCAA. He has been told by UCLA that his scholarship will be honored for his final year in school, whether he is allowed to play or not.

Softball:

>> The pre-season polls are out and perennial NCAA title contender UCLA is considered good, but not great. The Bruins were ranked 10th in the nation in the ESPN/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll and 17th in the NFCA national coaches poll. In the Pac-10 coaches poll, the Bruins were ranked third behind Arizona (pre-season national title favorite) and Arizona State. UCLA starts play Feb. 8 at Easton Stadium on campus.

Men’s Golf:

>> The Bruins were ranked second nationally going into this week’s PING Invitational in Arizona, but have fallen well back after two rounds of the three-round tournament. Senior Kevin Chappell was the individual leader, however, with the final round being played today.

Men’s Tennis:

>> The match between No. 9 UCLA and No. 17 Pepperdine that was re-scheduled for Monday has been moved to today at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, beginning at 3 p.m.

Men’s Track & Field:

>> Junior Laef Barnes was the highlight for the Bruins in the Washington Preview in Seattle, running the mile in a lifetime best of 4:03.28. That’s good enough for a provisional NCAA qualifying mark for the indoor nationals in his first race of the season.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Fourth-ranked UCLA (6-3) will play the first of four home matches with a non-conference tilt against Cal Baptist (top-ranked in the NAIA) on Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion starting at 7 p.m. It’s also Club and High School team night and teams can register by calling (310) 206-3444.

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> The No. 8 Bruins barely got by No. 9 Stanford, 195.050 to 195.025 last Sunday, as senior Tasha Schwikert scored a needed 9.8 on the floor exercise to seal the win and got exactly that score. Anna Li and Brittani McCullough went 1-2 in the all-around for the third straight meet, but Kristina Comforte suffered a knee injury during the floor exercise and had to be carried off the floor. She had an MRI on Monday and will see a doctor today for further review.

Women’s Soccer:

>> UCLA’s dynamic duo of striker Lauren Cheney and midfielder Tina DiMartino have been called up to the training camp for the U.S. National Team, taking place at The Home Depot Center in Carson. Both played on the winning Four Nations Tournament team in China and the camp that starts on Feb. 1 will select players for the Algarve Cup in Portugal (March 5-12) and the CONCACAF Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament in Juarez, Mexico (April 2-13).

Women’s Volleyball:

>> All-American setter Nellie Spicer (pictured) joined former Bruin senior outside hitter Rachell Johnson with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., earning an invitation from USA Volleyball. She will report Feb. 18 and is in the pool of players who could participate in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> No. 1-ranked UCLA beat Colorado State, 15-2 and Indiana, 15-6, on Sunday to finish the Michigan Invitational undefeated at 4-0. Junior forward Katie Rulon scored 12 goals over the weekend’s play to earn Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Player of the Week honors with San Jose State goalie Kendra Adama. The Spartans were also 4-0 on the weekend.

Nellie Spicer photo courtesy UCLA.