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USC's coach is Iranian!! USC going against top ranked UCLA in Wcollege cup

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    USC's coach is Iranian!! USC going against top ranked UCLA in Wcollege cup

    Lacking experience, Trojans confident in first trip to College Cup

    By CHRIS DUNCAN, AP Sports Writer
    December 6, 2007

    COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Short on experience, the Southern California women's soccer team isn't lacking confidence heading into this weekend's College Cup.

    USC (18-3-2) is the only team making its first appearance in the event this weekend.



    "There are benefits to being here before," first-year coach Ali Khosroshahin said. "But I also think when you come in here not knowing everything, there really isn't that much pressure. You just try to do what you've been doing all season, and that's playing good soccer."

    The Trojans will face top-ranked UCLA (20-1-2) in Friday's second semifinal. The Bruins are making their fifth consecutive trip to the College Cup.

    Florida State (17-5-3) plays Notre Dame (19-4-2) in the first game on Friday. The Seminoles have reached the College Cup four of the last five years, including the last three, and the Irish have reached three of the last four, winning the championship in 2004.

    "We are the only rookie here," said Amy Rodriguez, USC's leading scorer. "I see that there are advantages, as well as disadvantages -- the advantages being that we don't have a lot of pressure on ourselves. Nobody is expecting us to take the whole cup. That's kind of motivation for us.

    "I'm looking forward to this weekend," she said, "because we're here to prove people wrong."

    The swagger may be short-lived, considering how the Bruins are playing.

    UCLA is unbeaten since opening the season with a 2-1 loss to Texas and its current 17-game winning streak includes a 2-0 win over the Trojans on Oct. 26.

    But this is when it always gets tricky for UCLA. The Bruins are 3-5 at the College Cup since 2003 and they've never won the championship.

    Junior defender Erin Hardy says this UCLA squad is mentally tougher than any of the previous teams that has gotten this far.

    She's backed up by how the Bruins have won their last two games, rallying after their opponents scored first. UCLA reached to the College Cup by beating 2005 champion Portland 3-2 in double overtime -- after the Pilots tied the game in the final 70 seconds of regulation.

    Hardy said UCLA teams from the past would've wilted in that situation and lost.

    "This is the first team since we've been here that has heart and will fight back," Hardy said. "In the last Final Fours, we'll be down and we won't be hungry, or it doesn't even look on our faces like we're hungry.

    "The Portland game, you could tell in our faces that we wanted it," she said. "We fought back and won. It's huge that we fought through it."

    UCLA has won 16 of 19 meetings with its cross-city rival since 1993. Many of the players on both sides are close friends and grew up playing soccer together.

    "We know what to expect," said Khosroshahin. "We know what they're going to do. We're ready. Bring 'em."

    Like UCLA, the Irish are unbeaten in their last 17 games, though they lost to West Virginia in a shootout in the Big East championship.

    Notre Dame beat Florida State 2-1 in last year's semifinals. The rematch could be a shootout -- the Seminoles are the nation's highest goal-scoring team, with 78, and Notre Dame ranks 11th, with 64.

    Florida State junior forward Mami Yamaguchi ranks second nationally with 63 points (23 goals, 17 assists) this season. Irish junior forward Kerri Hanks has 48 points and leads the nation with 20 assists.

    The Seminoles shut out their first three tournament opponents, then beat Connecticut 3-2 in double overtime to get to College Station. They've outscored their opponents 14-2 in the postseason.

    "Our defending has been very, very good, which leads to our attack," Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said. "We've been able to get a hold of the ball, keep the ball and pass the ball and make other teams work really hard to fall back. If the ball's on the ground, that certainly favors us."

    Krikorian said his main concern is Notre Dame's front trio -- Hanks, Brittany Bock and Michele Weissenhofer. The three have 28 combined goals in the NCAA tournament alone.

    "All three of them are different-type players," Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said. "That's what makes them sometimes hard to deal with. They all have something different they have to offer."
    ----1990 TM, You will always have a special place in our hearts
    Goalie-----------abedzadeh----------
    Defense----hassanzadeh-----zarincheh-------moharami----
    midfield---namjoo motlagh---shahrokh bayani---cyrus ghayeghran---eftekhari---Abtahi
    forward-----pius-----marfavi-----

    .
    "Iranians are fiercely nationalistic", Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute
    .
    Sports doesn't build character. It reveals it - Legendary UCLA coach, John R Wooden

    #2
    o well, ive always supported UCLA
    now i gotta jump on the bandwagon

    Comment


      #3
      My friends sister played soccer for UCLA Stefanie Rigamat. Oh well looks like I'm going to support the USC coach only because he's Iraniain(No offense PB).

      Comment


        #4
        oh man u gave me a heart attack, i thought u meant basketball

        Comment


          #5
          niiice

          damesh garm baba

          Comment


            #6
            woohoo

            Comment


              #7
              even if the whole entire usc lineup is fati, soghra,kobra I am still bleedin blue!!
              ----1990 TM, You will always have a special place in our hearts
              Goalie-----------abedzadeh----------
              Defense----hassanzadeh-----zarincheh-------moharami----
              midfield---namjoo motlagh---shahrokh bayani---cyrus ghayeghran---eftekhari---Abtahi
              forward-----pius-----marfavi-----

              .
              "Iranians are fiercely nationalistic", Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute
              .
              Sports doesn't build character. It reveals it - Legendary UCLA coach, John R Wooden

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by persianbruin View Post
                even if the whole entire usc lineup is fati, soghra,kobra I am still bleedin blue!!
                UCLA fans r babies dude. Being the as$hole I am, I decided to drive up to westwood on december 1st after the game with a couple of friends in SC gear. Sum guy was standin across the road from us and waited for us to cross the road. After we did, he ran into a nearby parking structure and yelled **** SC behind him. Another loser came up to us and said "please guys, dont come here we don't want any trouble" lol . Was a fun night.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Saam View Post
                  UCLA fans r babies dude. Being the as$hole I am, I decided to drive up to westwood on december 1st after the game with a couple of friends in SC gear. Sum guy was standin across the road from us and waited for us to cross the road. After we did, he ran into a nearby parking structure and yelled **** SC behind him. Another loser came up to us and said "please guys, dont come here we don't want any trouble" lol . Was a fun night.
                  for some reason wht you said reminded me of April 2nd 1995 when ucla won the national championship in bball. The wholw westwood blvd was closed andpeople were celebrating. This one guy showed up with an SC sweatshirt and 10's of students just jumped on him and tore it up!! That was awsome!! I also have a very funny story to tell you about iran/australia game in 1997which was the same day as ucla/usc annual football game. I will open a thread about it later. You'll enjoy that one!!
                  ----1990 TM, You will always have a special place in our hearts
                  Goalie-----------abedzadeh----------
                  Defense----hassanzadeh-----zarincheh-------moharami----
                  midfield---namjoo motlagh---shahrokh bayani---cyrus ghayeghran---eftekhari---Abtahi
                  forward-----pius-----marfavi-----

                  .
                  "Iranians are fiercely nationalistic", Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute
                  .
                  Sports doesn't build character. It reveals it - Legendary UCLA coach, John R Wooden

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by persianbruin View Post
                    for some reason wht you said reminded me of April 2nd 1995 when ucla won the national championship in bball. The wholw westwood blvd was closed andpeople were celebrating. This one guy showed up with an SC sweatshirt and 10's of students just jumped on him and tore it up!! That was awsome!! I also have a very funny story to tell you about iran/australia game in 1997which was the same day as ucla/usc annual football game. I will open a thread about it later. You'll enjoy that one!!
                    Good memories, hopefully we can visit Westwood at the end of bball season

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by persianbruin View Post
                      That was awsome!! I also have a very funny story to tell you about iran/australia game in 1997which was the same day as ucla/usc annual football game. I will open a thread about it later. You'll enjoy that one!!
                      Please do share, PB. Westwood Blvd had a bunch of amazing street parties after games in the mid-90s. What a time it was to be Iranian and/or a Bruin.

                      I remember being a junior in high school in the Midwest when the Bruins won it all in '95, and seeing the images of the amazing all-night party in Westwood got me so excited that I put down UCLA firmly atop my list of colleges I was interested in. Of course every Iranian-American teenager wanted to go to UCLA. Even my sister ordered a BearWear catalog, although I think its cause she had a huge crush on Tobey Bailey.

                      When Iran defeated the USA in July 1998, I made a little highlight video of the street parties in Westwood. The whole street was shut down. Parviz Khodabakhsian had his TV crew there, and brought it up with Wilt Chamberlin (yes THAT Wilt Chamberlin) when Wilt was a guest on his show that year. Incredible times.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Great news on the USC soccer coach. There's a lot of Persian coaches in the NCAA, especially on the womens side of the game. I believe Afshin Gotbi actually did some stuff with UCLA before/after his stint with the Galaxy.

                        BTW from the title I was hoping it was a football coach, but I'm just gonna hold out until Payam Saadat makes the switch from Cal-Poly.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Looks like the coach is good since we won

                          Comment


                            #14
                            the problem is you guys are not man enough to have a men's soccer team

                            There is a jinx with UCLA and women's soccer. They ahve made it to the final 4 (college cup) 5 times, but have never won it.
                            ----1990 TM, You will always have a special place in our hearts
                            Goalie-----------abedzadeh----------
                            Defense----hassanzadeh-----zarincheh-------moharami----
                            midfield---namjoo motlagh---shahrokh bayani---cyrus ghayeghran---eftekhari---Abtahi
                            forward-----pius-----marfavi-----

                            .
                            "Iranians are fiercely nationalistic", Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute
                            .
                            Sports doesn't build character. It reveals it - Legendary UCLA coach, John R Wooden

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by persianbruin View Post
                              the problem is you guys are not man enough to have a men's soccer team

                              There is a jinx with UCLA and women's soccer. They ahve made it to the final 4 (college cup) 5 times, but have never won it.
                              Lol yeah I heard about that. I think it's because of scholarship restrictions or sumthin. We already give out enough sports scholarships

                              Comment

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