NCAA Soccer Playoffs a Stronghold for UCLA

The UCLA women’s soccer team set a school record for victories and moved within a step of a second consecutive Final Four appearance by defeating Dayton, 3-1, on Sunday.

The remaining hurdle is Florida (20-3-1), which UCLA (20-2) meets in a quarterfinal at Drake Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

UCLA is led by Stephanie Rigamat and Mary-Frances Monroe. Rigamat, a senior who is a two-time first-team all-Pacific 10 Conference striker, has a team-leading 13 goals and 30 points. Monroe, a senior transfer from Connecticut, has 12 goals and 28 points.

The winner of Sunday’s game will move on to the Women’s College Cup, which will be played Dec. 7 and 9 at Southern Methodist.

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The UCLA men’s soccer team seems to be peaking at the right time. The Bruins shut out San Diego, 4-0, in a NCAA second-round game Sunday in San Diego.

The Toreros had been a UCLA nemesis, defeating the Bruins, 3-0, earlier this season and knocking them out of the playoffs last season.

Saturday, the task gets tougher for UCLA (12-6-4), when it meets top-ranked Southern Methodist at Dallas. SMU (20-0) is the only unbeaten and untied men’s college soccer team in the nation.

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Loyola Marymount (14-13), champion of the Western Water Polo Assn., will play UCLA Saturday in an NCAA men’s water polo semifinal at Stanford.

UCLA (15-4), the defending NCAA champion, was an at-large pick. Top-ranked Stanford (20-1) meets Massachusetts Amherst (28-5) in the other semifinal. The final is Sunday.