Jill Oakes was not only thrilled to have scored the game-winning
goal, she was happy that the game was finally over.
After giving No. 3 UCLA (8-1-2, 1-0 Pac-10) a 2-1 sudden-death
overtime win over Washington State (4-7, 0-1) Thursday night at
Drake Stadium, Oakes came off the field and iced her sore knee,
showing no signs of nerves from the tense match that had just taken
place.
“Sudden death is not really nerve-racking,” Oakes
said. “It personally pumps me up even more, because I know
once that goal goes in the net, we can stop. I can go take a break
and ice my knee. It’s over with. No more sprints.”
Thursday night’s golden goal was a long time coming for
Oakes, who is still only about 90 percent after sustaining a torn
posterior cruciate ligament in this past season’s
second-round NCAA tournament victory over USC. The sophomore
midfielder last scored for the Bruins Nov. 3 of this past year.
“I’m feeling better and better every game,”
she said. “I think my confidence is coming back.”
Oakes happened to be in the right place at the right time for
the Bruins, just when the team needed it most.
In the third minute of sudden-death overtime, Oakes took a pass
from freshman Mary Castelanelli and directed it into the back of
the net, past the outstretched arms of Cougar goalkeeper Katie
Hultin.
“It was a great ball from Mary,” Oakes said.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Though the Bruins probably could have asked for more as a team,
they’re pleased with the win.
“We didn’t want to go to overtime with this team,
but that’s soccer,” forward Iris Mora said.
“We’re just happy we won.”
Mora was responsible for getting the Bruins on the board first,
when she bent in a corner kick in the 60th minute.
“I was trying to bend it towards the post,” she
said. “And when you bend it really well, that happens. I got
it over the wall, and it was a good bend, so it went in.”
After going up 1-0, it appeared that the tough Bruin defense
would hang on for the shutout victory. But the Cougars evened the
score in the 75th minute, as senior Shelby Brownfield beat UCLA
goalkeeper Arianna Criscione from 25 yards out with a blistering
left-footed shot.
The game stayed tied for the final 15 minutes of regulation, and
Oakes’ goal came just two minutes, 30 seconds after the
UCLA-dominated overtime session had begun.
Coach Jill Ellis was happy to see the normally defense-minded
Oakes stepping up and taking initiative offensively.
“We have to make her dangerous,” Ellis said.
“I’ve been telling her, “˜Shoot, shoot,
shoot.’ Tonight after the game I told her, “˜Way to
listen to your coach.'”
“I was thinking to myself that we needed someone to step
up and be the hero, and I was in the right place at the right
time,” Oakes said. “It’s me today, it will be
someone else tomorrow.”
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UCLA hosts No. 9 Washington tomorrow at 7 p.m.