Bruins looking for West Coast respect

Bruins looking for West Coast respect
December 7, 2011
 
They’ve heard all about it; The ACC this, and the Big East that. 

They get it. 
 
But you’ll have to excuse the UCLA Bruins if they still decide to show up to this weekend’s College Cup, anyway. Just for the heck of it. 
 
“You see it with the rankings, everyone talks about the power schools of the East,” said Bruins sophomore Reed Williams, fresh off his double overtime game-winner that gave his team a 1-0 win over Louisville on Sunday.
 
ucla men's college soccer player reed williamsReed Williams (left)
“It would be great to shift the power and get our name back up there. We have to represent more than UCLA.”
 
The Bruins can do as much by representing well as the only College Cup team that plays in the Pacific Time Zone. 

They’re set to face North Carolina on Friday for the right to play in the national championship. 
 
And if the Bruins were to realize their ultimate goal of a title they would become the first West Coast program to take the crown since UC Santa Barbara beat UCLA in the 2006 final.

 Not that anyone outside their locker room and fan base is predicting it.

“If you look at things like the RPI, we were super low,” Williams said. “I don’t think people fully respect the Pac-12 teams so it would be great to win it for that reason.”
 
UCLA has had its share of recent close calls, reaching the quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons before climbing back to the Cup this season. 
 
And this time around they’ve done it with their defense. The Bruins are currently on an eight-match shutout win streak, which ties a school record set in 1977. 
 
Goaltender Brian Rowe is clearly in sync with his backline, which includes sophomores Joe Sofia and Pat Matchett, and the entire defensive unit is playing out of its mind.
 
Should that continue, they just might play themselves past the perceived East Coast bias and into the winner’s circle. 
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