Prior to Sunday’s match against USC, UCLA coach Jill Ellis
called the Trojans a “blue-collar team.” Ellis
described USC as physical and athletic, and said she expected a
bruising contest. Sunday’s game didn’t disappoint. The
Trojans played a physical brand of soccer from the outset, knocking
many of the Bruins to the ground. “I have never been this
dirty, ever,” senior forward Sarah-Gayle Swanson said after
the match. Swanson was constantly engaged in physical play up front
with the USC defenders, especially in the first half when she was
trying to take defenders one-on-one. “We were expecting
it,” Swanson said. “They’re a physical team, but
I wasn’t expecting it every single time I touched the
ball.” Though the foul totals were relatively even, 14 for
USC and 11 for UCLA, and no cards were given, the match’s
physicality caused the Bruins to make an adjustment at halftime.
Ellis said she thought her team was getting pushed around a bit on
the flanks, trying to take players one-on-one rather than pass
around them. “I said that’s where we needed to play
smarter,” Ellis said. “We needed to combine around them
rather than just go head-to-head with them.” The adjustments
were made, and the Bruins said they were actually beginning to
enjoy the physicality by the end of the match. “It actually
makes it a little more fun,” junior midfielder Lindsay Greco
said. “We like playing the physical games. It just keeps us
on our toes.” The Bruins also came away with an understanding
of what they need to do when faced with a physical opponent.
“We need to play quicker,” Swanson said. “We also
need to focus and stay in the game because it’s easy to get
mad about the calls.”
SENIOR DAY: Sunday marked the last home match
of the regular season, and UCLA’s seniors were honored on the
field prior to the kickoff. Forwards Katherine Bjazevich and
Swanson, goalkeeper Jaclyn Harwood, undergraduate assistant coach
Jessica Stamp, and defenders Nandi Pryce and Kathryn Lee all
received flowers from the coaching staff.
THE RECORD BOOKS: Sophomore forward Iris Mora
moved into first on the list of single-season assist leaders with
her 12th assist Sunday. In the team’s last four matches, Mora
has registered five goals and four assists.