COLLEGE SCENE UCLA.

Byline: - Jill Painter

The women's soccer team was ranked second in the nation, but coach Jillian Ellis still slept uneasily. Because of injuries, she was down to one goalkeeper - Arianna Criscione. Ellis then remembered Emily Zaplatosch, a member of the softball team, was an all-state soccer player at her Arizona high school.

Ellis asked softball coach Sue Enquist about her that day. And the next day - Oct. 29 - Zaplatosch played as UCLA's backup.

``I was excited,'' Zaplatosch said. ``It's been awhile since I've played. It was kind of cool to be back in a game. I love soccer. I loved watching them play.''

Zaplatosch practices with the softball team since but works with soccer coaches for about 45 minutes when she's done.

UCLA (16-1-3), which earned the No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament, plays San Diego (9-7-4) on Friday in the first round.

USC 

Women's soccer coach Jim Millinder knows that unless his team has a strong regular season, NCAA playoff games at UCLA will be the norm. USC (9-7-4) plays Pepperdine in the first round Friday and, with a victory, should play UCLA in the second round. UCLA beat USC 1-0 in overtime last year.

``We had a goal this year that we wanted to be one of the top 16 seeds so we wouldn't get UCLA until the third round, but we're back at UCLA for the third year in a row,'' Millinder said. ``Our strength of schedule is high, but every game counts.''

USC lost forward Jessica Edwards to a broken leg early in the season but managed to make the playoffs thanks to victories over Oregon and Oregon State last weekend.

The game will be broadcast on usctrojans.com.

CSUN 

The women's volleyball team remains in the hunt for the Big West Conference title, just one match behind UC Santa Barbara.

CSUN (15-8, 11-4) has won three in a row but plays four of its final five matches on the road. After starting 1-3 in conference, CSUN has gone 10-2.

Senior Jennifer Fopma, a transfer from Pepperdine, continues to dominate and averages 5.33 kills a game - the best mark in school history. Missy Clements set the record of 4.75 in 1994.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

The women's soccer team didn't make the playoffs, but three players were recognized by the West Coast Conference: Laura Trask and Shari Nishikawa were named to the second team, and Lori Sims received honorable-mention honors.

Also, junior women's volleyball player Kelli Nerison and men's water polo player Endre Rex-Kiss were named LMU's student athletes of the month. Nerison also was named the WCC player of the month for October for 17th-ranked LMU.

PEPPERDINE

The women's soccer team has made the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year. Pepperdine (13-5-1) plays USC (9-7-4) on Friday at UCLA's Drake Stadium, and coach Tim Ward is asking fans to attend.

Pepperdine beat USC 1-0 in the first round of the tournament in 2001. The Waves started the season strong but are 1-3-1 in their past five games.

Senior forward Lacey Ubaldi was named a first-team all-West Coast Conference selection.