WOMEN'S SOCCER: UCLA COMES BACK ONCE AGAIN BRUINS TO PLAY IN NATIONAL SEMIFINAL.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

In a season that has presented UCLA's women's soccer team with its share of obstacles, the Bruins didn't flinch when faced with another hurdle Friday night.

Less than six minutes into its NCAA quarterfinal match against defending-national champion Portland, UCLA found itself trailing.

But like they did in their third-round contest against Florida, the second-seeded Bruins rallied to extend their season, responding less than two minutes later to tie the score. Then, UCLA netted the winner on Lauren Cheney's 70th-minute penalty kick to advance to its fourth consecutive College Cup with a 2-1 victory at Drake Stadium.

``You give up a goal (early) and immediately it makes the other team the hunted,'' said UCLA coach Jillian Ellis, whose team will face North Carolina (24-1-0) or Texas A&M (17-5-1) next Friday in a national semifinal in Cary, N.C.

Whether it was season-ending knee injuries to Mary Castellani and Kara Lang, or playing without five starters in September because of U.S.Under- 20 national team commitments, nothing has come easy to the Bruins this season.

The Pilots came into the game winners of nine consecutive postseason matches, including back-to-back shutouts.Rachael Rapinoe, one of 17returning players from the Pilots' national-championship roster that handed the Bruins a 4-0 setback in last year's final, scored her ninth goal of the season on Portland's lone shot in the first half against UCLA goalkeeper Valerie Henderson.

McCall Zerboni quickly erased the deficit, finishing a set-up from Danesha Adams and Bristyn Davis to slip a shot past Cori Alexander in the eighthminute.

``I started to think it's my kids' game plan to (play from behind). It was a stunner, but at the half, I told them (Portland) had one chance, and they put it away,'' Ellis said. ``But I think giving up an early goal kind of drives them.''

UCLA (21-3-0) continued to build momentum as the second half progressed, producing five shots in the first 20 minutes. But it was a breakaway along the left wing by Christina DiMartino that resulted in a collision with Alexander, and the Bruins being awarded a penalty shot.

Alexander guessed correctly on Cheney's attempt, but the forward still tucked the shot in the lower-left corner for her eighth winning goal -- a school record for a freshman -- and 19th overall. Cheney's tally helped the Bruins extend their postseason home winning streak to 15 in a row.

``Our last two years we've gone into the finals without being scored on, but this year we've been behind and we've had to work hard to come back,'' said Henderson, who came up with two crucial stops in the final 15minutes to preserve the victory.

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