All is Well(s) that ends well

Call him the Bruins’ Brick Wall.

Zach Wells.

He was one of the main reasons the UCLA men’s soccer team upset

top-ranked Stanford, 1-0 in overtime, Friday at UCLA. Wells, the

former Newport Harbor High standout who is the Bruins’ starting

goalie, recorded three saves, including stuffing Stanford’s best

opportunity at 49:29. The Cardinal’s Todd Dunivant hit a hard shot

from the left side that was snared by Wells, who is on a hot streak.

Last week, Wells was named Pac-10 Men’s Soccer Player of the Week

(Oct. 1-7) for his heroics in games against then-top-ranked St.

John’s and then-No. 13 Rutgers.

Wells withstood 17 shots and made four saves to lead the Bruins to

a 0-0 double-overtime tie with St. John’s. It was the first time St.

John’s had been shut out this season.

In a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Rutgers, Wells stopped a

season-high eight shots. During that weekend, he posted a .41 goals

against average, dropping his overall average to .73.

Wells has been the leader on defense for the Bruins, who are

ranked sixth by Soccer America and 16th in the National Soccer

Coaches Association of America poll. UCLA upset Stanford when Jimmy

Frazelle scored 1:47 into the extra period.

The Bruins host California today at 1 p.m. at Drake Stadium.

* Another big game at UCLA today is at noon, when the Bruins’

men’s water polo team, which features Newport Harbor product Peter

Belden and Corona del Mar product Michael March, hosts top-ranked

Stanford, coached by former CdM head man John Vargas.

The Bruins, ranked fourth in the American Water Polo Coaches

Association poll, defeated third-ranked Cal at Berkeley, 4-3,

Saturday. UCLA, one of the better teams in the Mountain Pacific

Sports Federation improved to 9-4, 1-2 in MPSF play.

The Bruins have defeated USC twice this season, while the Trojans

have upset the Cardinal two times this season. UCLA won the NorCal

Tournament with a 6-3 win over rival USC in the title game.

“That was what we needed,” Belden said of the victory over the

Trojans. “We realized that we’re the best team if not one of the top

two (in the nation). We proved that we’re one of the teams to beat.

That put us in the driver’s seat.”

Belden, who plays driver and rotates in the starting lineup, is a

key player on six-on-five situations, as is March, who is a

left-hander. Belden is excited to play Stanford today.

“We’re looking forward to Stanford,” Belden said. “I think it’s

going to be a real good game. It’s going to be crazy. The way things

are shaping it’s going to stay that way until the end of the year.”

Belden also said he is getting the most out of his college

experience at UCLA.

“It’s exactly everything I wanted,” said Belden, who was joined by

his younger sister, Katherine, at UCLA.

* The madness in the MPSF continued and this time it came at the

expense of the UC Irvine men’s water polo team, which was upset by

sixth-ranked Pepperdine, 6-3, in Malibu Saturday. The Waves built a

6-0 lead and held the Anteaters, ranked No. 2, scoreless through

three quarters.

* April Ross, a former Newport Harbor standout, guided the

top-ranked USC women’s volleyball team to a three-game victory over

rival UCLA, ranked No. 13, in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,214 at

Lyon Center Friday night.

Ross led USC with 13 kills and tallied a .385 attack percentage.

* Julie Allen, the former CdM long-distance running sensation,

will not compete at Stanford this year, due to illness. She will take

a medical redshirt year, CdM cross country coach Bill Sumner said.

Allen is not enrolled in classes at Stanford, and is instead taking

the year off to regroup while living in Orange County.