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Senior pitcher Keira Goerl will get to face the U.S. Olympic team when it visits Westwood to play

After they finish their finals, the players on the No. 2 UCLA softball team will have one more big test before spring break.

On Sunday, the Bruins (26-1) will host the U.S. Olympic team – the reigning gold medalists – in an exhibition game.

For five Olympians, playing at UCLA will be a flashback to their college days.

Amanda Freed, Lisa Fernandez, Tairia Flowers (formerly Tairia Mims), Stacey Nuveman and Natasha Watley all played for the Bruins.

“This game is a great homecoming for the former Bruins,” said UCLA coach Sue Enquist, who coached all five players when they were at UCLA. “This is a great testament to the program and its history.”

A year ago, Watley and Flowers were the senior leaders when UCLA won the College World Series.

Now they will be facing some of the players who were their teammates for three years.

“I played with them for so long, it puts me in a different situation,” senior pitcher Keira Goerl said. “I loved playing with them. Now I’m on the other side and playing against them.”

After being named College World Series MVP last year, Goerl hoped she would also be a member of the Olympic team.

She tried out for Team USA, but did not make the final roster.

“I proved to them what I am, I wasn’t what they wanted, and now I’ve moved on,” Goerl said. “I don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”

Another current collegiate pitcher, Cat Osterman of Texas, won a spot on Team USA, and is redshirting this year.

If Goerl was named to the Olympic team, she probably would have redshirted this season as well, Enquist said.

“I’m just disappointed for her,” Enquist said. “She did everything she could to make the team.”

Enquist has been impressed with how Goerl has responded and played in her senior season. She currently boasts an unblemished 15-0 record.

“She had to let go emotionally and move on, and she’s doing a terrific job,” Enquist said. “It’s by far the most difficult thing she’s had to do.”

While Enquist has not named a starting pitcher for this weekend, Goerl will probably get the nod.

Goerl said she wouldn’t feel any extra motivation to pitch against the Olympic team after not making the squad.

But her coach said she expects Goerl to pitch with “a lot of vigor” if she gets the call.

Though Goerl has not decided if she will try out for the Olympic team again in 2008, some of her current teammates will probably try out for the team.

Six Bruins played for the silver medal-winning United States junior world championships team in the fall.

This weekend’s game will give the Bruins a chance to see how they compare to the best players in the world.

It will also give the team one last chance to see how they are playing before beginning the Pac-10 season.

“It’s more about getting the Bruins ready than anything,” sophomore Caitlin Benyi said.

Benyi, Team USA’s leading hitter in the junior world championships, said she is thinking about the Olympic team a little, but is focusing more on the present.

UCLA is coming off its only loss of the season, a 3-2 defeat last weekend against No. 16 Oregon State.

Enquist said she wants to see how her team is hitting and playing defense.

This game will also be one of the few times the Bruins play in front of a full crowd.

“It’s going to be an intense atmosphere,” Benyi said. “That’s exactly what the Pac-10 is like. This will get the newcomers used to a high intensity situation.”