The countdown to the College Cups begins. The men's and women's finals will this year take place on the same weekend. Each day this week, Soccer America will preview one of the matchups. We
begin with the opening women's semifinal game on Friday in Cary, N.C., between UCLA and North Carolina. Both are No. 1 seeds, but they had to endure tough quarterfinal matches. UCLA came from begin
to beat Portland, 2-1, gaining revenge for last year's 4-0 loss in the Women's College Cup final. North Carolina also came from behind -- twice -- to edge Texas A&M, 3-2, in a bruising affair. A&M
lost star
Ashlee Pistorius with a concussion. Later in the game, UNC lost its most experienced defender,
Jessica Maxwell,
with a broken ankle. Here's a look at the probables with their stats (G-A-P).
UCLA (21-3-0)
GOALKEEPER
1 VALERIE HENDERSON (Jr., Orinda, Calif.) 0.66 GAA
Adventurous keeper is already UCLA career leader in wins.
DEFENDERS
9 BRISTYN DAVIS (Sr., Locust Valley, N.Y.) 3-6-12
Converted forward is second on the Bruins in
assists.
12 ERIN HARDY (Soph., Costa Mesa, Calif.) 0-0-0
Won spot on U.S. U-20
national team with late run.
14 CAT CALVERT (Soph., Malibu, Calif.) 0-1-1
First-year starter helped shut down Portland attack in QFs.
19 LAUREN WILMOTH (Fr.,
Garland, Texas) 1-2-4
Big addition at LB with Mary Castelanelli lost with knee injury.
MIDFIELDERS
2 STACY LINDSTROM (Sr., Laguna Niguel, Calif.) 1-4-6
Former U.S. U-19 has come on in a big way in her senior year.
5 CHRISTINA DiMARTINO
(Soph. Massapequa, N.Y.) 5-7-17
Arguably the premier ball wizard in women's college soccer.
6 McCALL ZERBONI (Soph., San Clemente, Calif.) 2-2-6
Played tremendous two-way game against Portland.
20 KRISTINA LARSEN (Fr. Mission Viejo, Calif.) 3-0-6
One of three UCLA starters from So Cal
Blues.
FORWARDS
8 LAUREN CHENEY (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) 19-1-39
Already
one of college soccer's great target players.
25 DANESHA ADAMS (Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio) 12-4-28
Won
Silver Ball at U-20 World Championship.
KEY RESERVES Lydia Cook (Fr., Acampo, Calif.) started against
Florida. Former U.S. U-19
Stephanie Kron (Jr., Paradise Valley, Ariz.) has three goals.
Alma Playle (Jr., Davis,
Calif.) played big minutes against Portland.
Lauren Switzer (Fr., St. Charles, Ill.) started early in the season when the five Bruins were with the
U.S. U-20s in Russia.
Blake Zerboni (Soph., San Clemente) is McCall's twin sister.
Molly Kruger (Soph., Carmel, Ind.)
is a transfer from Indiana.
Complete UCLA Roster NORTH CAROLINA (25-1-0)
GOALKEEPER
00 ANNA RODENBOUGH (Soph., Greensboro, N.C.) 0.41 GAA
Gave
way to former U-19 star Ashlyn Harris in second half of QFs.
DEFENDERS 10 ARIEL HARRIS (Jr., Holly Springs, N.C.) 0-1-1
Should start in place of injured defensive stalwart Jessica Maxwell.
11 ROBYN GAYLE (Jr., Canada) 2-2-6
Found time between A&M game to play for Canada twice in LA!
32 KRISTI EVELAND (Fr., Southlake, Texas) 0-0-0
Leads all Tar Heels in minutes played.
MIDFIELDERS 17 YAEL AVERBUCH (Soph., Montclair, N.J.) 16-5-37
UNC's leading scorer and main distributor must be watched.
26 NIKKI WASHINGTON (Fr., Mesquite, Texas) 3-9-15
Speedster made game-saving stop on line against Texas A&M.
76 ALI HAWKINS (Fr., Encinitas, Calif.) 6-3-15
At 5-foot-9, she is big-time threat in
the air.
98 TOBIN HEATH (Fr., Basking Ridge, N.J.) 4-9-17
One of the most exciting left-sided players in college soccer.
FORWARDS 9 WHITNEY ENGEN (Fr., Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.)
12-12-36
Tied with Averbuch for UNC lead with four postseason goals.
20 HEATHER
O'REILLY (Sr., New Brunswick, N.J.) 10-15-35
Only collegian to play for USA in World Cup-clinching win over Mexico.
30 ELIZABETH GUESS (Sr., Athens, Ga.) 6-13-25
Move to offensive mid helped turn Texas A&M game in UNC's favor.
KEY RESERVES Former U-19 star
Ashlyn Harris (Fr., Satellite Beach, Fla.) could get the nod in goal. If she does, it would be her first
collegiate start. U.S. U-20
Casey Nogueira (Fr., Raleigh, N.C.) has been seeing big minutes off the bench in the postseason.
Jaime Gilbert (Jr., North Andover, Mass.) started in 2004 and 2005.
Local product
Sterling Smith (Fr., Chapel
Hill, N.C.) has scored five goals and four assists.
Complete North Carolina Roster