By Arthur Choung
Daily Bruin Contributor
It was the best of times, and it’s still the best of times, at
least for the UCLA women’s soccer team.
For the second consecutive game, forward Sherice Bartling scored
the game-winning goal, giving UCLA a 2-1 victory over San Diego
State on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon at El Camino College.
But all Bartling did was tap the ball into a wide-open goal.
The real game-winning play was made by midfielder Louise
Lieberman.
"I saw Sherice in my right eye, kind of fell, and just slipped
it through to her (Bartling)," said Lieberman. "Kind of got
lucky."
"That goal was all Louise," said Bartling. "She totally gave me
a beautiful pass, the goal was wide open, and I just tapped it
in."
On the play early in the second half, Lieberman took possession
of the ball in transition and drove down the left side of the
field. Out of necessity, Aztec goalkeeper Katherine Judkins came
out and challenged Lieberman, who slipped the ball over to
Bartling. With the goalkeeper out of the play, Bartling tapped the
ball into the wide open net, as if in a practice drill.
At the end of the first half, the score was tied 1-1, with Traci
Arkenberg giving the Bruins an early lead on a goal for her 100th
career point 13 minutes into the game. The goal was set up,
ironically, by a two-part game played by Lieberman and Bartling.
Judkins made the save on Bartling’s shot, and Arkenberg scored on
the rebound before Judkins could react to the ball.
The Aztecs tied the score with midfielder Catherine McGuire’s
goal in the 27th minute.
With the win, the Bruins extend their unbeaten streak to six,
raising their record to 6-4-1 at the midpoint of their season.
After a 1-4 start, the Bruins have rebounded well.
"We’re putting out a lot more effort, and we really want it,"
said Lieberman. "We’re going in harder, and we’re training really
hard."
"I think it starts in the back and our defense is solid now,"
said Bartling. "It gives us a lot more confidence up front, and
we’re playing more as a team now.
"It seems like we’ve gelled."