Weekend College Preview: Bruins, LMU & More

The UCLA men (1-1) are on the road this weekend playing No. 1-ranked Wake Forest Friday and North Carolina Sunday.

UCLA bounced back from a wrenching 2-1 overtime to Maryland at Home Depot Center last Friday to hand Coach Jorge Salcedo his 50th college victory Sunday in a 3-0 win over UC Riverside.

Goalkeeper Brian Perk, who recorded the shutout, said UCLA will rely more this year on contributions from its freshman class, which includes 16-year-old Eder Arreola of Chino Hills, who has already played for the U.S. Under-20 National Team:

"The talent level is a little bit lower just because we had the first (MLS draft) pick (in Chance Myers) and the third pick (in midfielder Tony Beltran), who are tough to replace, but surprisingly the freshmen are going to do a good job. It's going to be similar to my freshman year when we got to the final (of the national championship)."

Three other Bruins also went in the MLS draft.

With the talent level lower, other intangibles have assumed greater importance, said playmaker Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates:

"I feel l like our team chemistry is definitely a lot stronger than we had last year. We had some different personnel last year - guys that went big in the MLS Superdraft. ...But I feel our team chemistry is a strong point as we move forward in preseason."

Perk said he has no individual goals this season after last year's disappointing 9-9-3 season:

"I just want to win games. Last year I was a little bit selfish and had some ambitions of my own. This year, to be honest, I could care less about what happens to me. I want to win before everything else. Last year was so miserable. It doesn't matter if you play well or not. When you're not winning, it's not fun. I want to have fun."

Nakazawa, a junior, conceded he had one eye on his post-collegiate career:

"(My) goals are to help our team win Pac-10, go on to the national championship and put myself in a good position to get offered a Generation Adidas contract (with MLS)."

Incidentally, UCLA has started a light-hearted Q&A with players on its Web site. Up first: Nakazawa.

In other college games:
*The No. 2-ranked UCLA women (3-0) face UC Irvine (1-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium.
*The top-ranked USC women (2-1-0) take on No. 12 Santa Clara (2-1-0) at 3 p.m. Friday and then the Trojans host Alabama (1-0-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 7) both at McAlister Field.
*Defending Big West champions Long Beach State (2-0-1) is looking to match its best start in school history, when they host Harvard (0-0-0) at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the beginning of a four-match home stand. Undefeated UNLV (3-0-1) visits at noon Sunday.
*Off to the best start in program history, the Cal State Northridge women (3-0-0) hosts UNLV at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Matador Soccer Field.
*The LMU men (0-2-1) host No. 24 Cal Poly at 1:30 p.m. Friday and seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara Sunday, while the LMU women play immediately preceding the men's game against UC Irvine (1-2) at 1:30 p.m. Friday and Harvard (0-0) Sunday.
*No. 11 Cal State Dominguez Hills defeated Seattle Pacific 3-0 Wednesday in the Pacific Northwest for the Toros' third straight win.