The UCLA women’s soccer team probably isn’t taking
solace in the fact that its Nov. 23 playoff match against Texas
A&M was the first time in school history that an opponent was
held to zero shots.
They lost the game, 3-1 on penalty kicks, ending their season
despite perfect defense.
“I thought we had a good season, but it’s a bummer
how it ended, with the way we played this year,” sophomore
forward Lindsay Greco said.
UCLA finished 18-4 after their exit in the third round of the
playoffs.
“I thought we could have gone all the way, having outshot
them. It’s a bummer to end that way, it hurt all of us
because we knew we were a better team,” she added.
The Pac-10 and NCAA confirmed that notion.
Freshman midfielder Jill Oakes, junior midfielder Whitney Jones
and junior defender Nandi Pryce were first-team All-Pac 10
selections, while junior midfielder Sarah-Gayle Swanson and
freshman forward Iris Mora made the Pac-10’s second team.
Junior defender Kathryn Lee was an honorable mention. Pryce was
also a first-team NSCAA/Adidas All-American.
The team loses its lone senior, team captain Tracey Winzen, but
returns its entire lineup otherwise. Still, it is quite clear that
Winzen will be sorely missed.
“Tracey is very special to me because I first got here
when she was a freshman, so we started together,” head coach
Jillian Ellis said. “She’s an outstanding person and a
good soccer player and she has really been a foundation for me on
which to build the program and each recruiting class. In four years
the team has definitely evolved, and a lot of that is because of
her.”
After the season-ending loss, several players tried to console
Winzen, but words from her coach comforted the senior most.
“I just remember when the game was over being just kind of
shocked and devastated,” Winzen said. “I had a bunch of
girls come over and give me a hug and say they were sorry. The way
the coaches put things was easing to me. Coach Ellis said,
“˜You know you were an amazing asset to me and we are going to
miss you and it’s going to be different without
you.'”
Despite the way the season ended the Bruins are proud of their
individual achievements.
Jones, a second-team All-Pac 10 selection in 2001, started in 20
of 21 matches for the Bruins this year and had five points on a
goal and three assists. Oakes, one of two freshman named to the
first-team, finished the season with 10 points, on three goals and
four assists. Pryce started in 20 matches for the Bruins and led
UCLA, which only gave up 13 goals on the season, to a record 12
shutouts.
“Its nice for players to get recognized for their
contributions. They are special, and Nandi is one of the top
defenders in the country and she is very deserving of the
All-American award. These players played very well in the
season.”
Swanson had 19 points this season on nine goals and an assist
““ second best on the team, while Mora finished with 14 points
on seven goals. Lee was another key defender for UCLA, starting 20
matches on the season.
Talking to any member of the team, one senses the abundance of
chemistry, and the strong desire to win ““ qualities that will
position the Bruins for another national championship run.
“We did have a young team. We lose Tracey which is
definitely a big loss, but otherwise we will basically have the
same team,” Greco said. “We really had good team
chemistry, we all got along really well. I think we have a good
shot at (a national championship); we really just have to take it
one game at a time.”
Greco and Ellis agreed on the one area in which the team can
improve: finishing.
Next year the Bruins will look to finish what they started.