Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.
Brittany Oliveira still itches to get into the middle of a pitch and mix it up with a foe or two.
The newest assistant on UNLV women's soccer staff sat, and squirmed, on the home team's bench throughout a 1-0 overtime defeat to Denver on Sept. 10 at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
"I just wanted to go, just wanted the ball," a smiling Oliveira said. "Let me have a go at these guys."
She's learning about channeling those emotions.
"That's one of the biggest things in changing from a player into a coach," Oliveira said. "You have to sit there, be calm and remain calm. You don't get to release some of that energy by running around out on the field and doing it yourself."
Oliveira has a model mentor in second-year head coach Kat Mertz, who guided North Carolina State to three College Cup appearances and helped steer UCLA to a pair of NCAA championship game appearances as an assistant.
Mertz was a consummate professional against Denver. When she did dispute an arguable call by referee Michael Chasen, she didn't come close to embarrassing herself or her program. Denver coach Jeff Hooker, on the other hand, was so obnoxious Chasen nearly ran him off to the nearby Hard Rock pool to cool down. Hooker wisely retreated.
"She's a great leader and motivator," Oliveira said of Mertz. "It's great to help a program like this and work with quality people like Kat and (fellow assistant) Michael (Needham)."
The staff has been tested. The Rebels (3-5-1) broke a four-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over North Dakota State in the Blue Jay Classic on Friday in Omaha, Neb. UNLV plays Creighton today, and opens Mountain West Conference action Oct. 5 at Utah.
One Web site described Oliveira as a "female Zizou," likening her lethal versatility as a player at Stanford to former French star Zinedine Zidane.
Oliveira, 24, said, uh, that wasn't exactly the case. Those comments were made by a friend, and she wouldn't characterize her style that way.
"But I did play the same position, so maybe that's where the similarities are," Oliveira said. "I just wanted to be on the field and help my team out, whether that was at center-mid or up top or out wide, just kind of finding my spot."
During Oliveira's career from 2000 to 2003, Stanford played in four consecutive NCAA tournaments.
The biggest of her 12 goals came in 2002, as a junior, when she scored the first of her team's three goals in a shutout of then-defending national champion Santa Clara, one of Stanford's archrivals.
"It was fun to put those guys away," Oliveira said.
Mertz's tenure as a UCLA assistant coincided with Oliveira's career as a midfielder for the Cardinal, and Mertz remembered the player's consistency and smart decisions. That link proved crucial in Oliveira landing at UNLV after an unsavory end to a stint on the Northwestern women's staff.
In May a Web site published 46 photographs from an alleged August 2005 hazing incident involving members of the Wildcats soccer squad.
A school investigation resulted in suspensions for returning players who were involved, and players apologized in the campus newspaper. They said they never thought a supposed night of team bonding could go so awry.
In June, coach Jenny Haigh resigned, which left her assistants without jobs. Mertz hired Oliveira two weeks later, and both declined to comment about the Northwestern incident.
Mertz said she wanted her new assistant coach to play with her team, to show by example, in practice sessions.
"So the girls could look up to and respect her," Mertz said. "She was part of a rich program (at Stanford) that had top rankings in the country, and I wanted her to bring that level of intensity to this program."
And, someday, to a program of her own.
"When the time comes, that will be awesome," Oliveira said. "It will be great to be able to lead a team. Now, I'm enjoying learning the coaching side and taking notes wherever I can."
Notes
It will be played Oct. 28 and 29 at the Bettye Wilson and Kellogg/Zaher complexes, and two other fields, and teams from Canada, Mexico and Russia will participate. Three squads from Sweden pulled out after last month's travel scare in London.
Two teams from Real Madrid's youth program in Mexico City will also take part.
UNLV plays host to Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m. Sunday, and begins Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action Friday at Air Force.
Rebels soccer alumni coordinator Danny Barber said pizza will be ordered in Alumni Park, on the north side of the field, after the game. An informal alumni get-together has also been arranged for tonight at 8 at the Fireside Tavern in Henderson.
The regular alumni game will be held Nov. 5.
Match of the Week
Rangers at Celtic
Today at Celtic Park
The Old Firm, perhaps the most heated rivalry in all of sports, resumes today at the home of the defending Scottish Premier League champs. Celtic has taken three of the last five league titles, finishing second those other two occasions.
Once again, Celtic (5-1-1) is atop the table. Rangers (3-1-3) are third. Sorry, longtime Las Vegas referee and Scotland native John Kennedy, but we're taking Celtic, 3-0.
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