Fed up with her team’s uninspired play Sunday afternoon,
UCLA women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis retreated to a solitary
spot alongside the bleachers at Drake Stadium where she seethed
while Cal celebrated its 1-0 double-overtime victory over the
Bruins.
If this was the first time seventh-ranked UCLA had suffered a
mental lapse against an unranked opponent, Ellis might have let it
slide. But since the Bruins have made a habit of playing below
their level of competition so far this season, Ellis took the
opportunity to question the focus of her team.
“I’ve talked to them repeatedly about not looking
past their opponents and respecting who they’re
playing,” Ellis said.
“Tactically, technically and physically we’re the
same team that has dominated some very good teams this year. What
it comes down to is being ready to play.”
Just two days removed from an emphatic 1-0 win over in-state
rival No. 18 Stanford, UCLA (11-5, 4-2 Pac-10) looked nothing like
a team that hopes to make a deep NCAA Tournament run next month in
their game against Cal.
Knowing that a win over the Bruins would likely wrap up a
postseason berth, Cal (9-4-2, 2-2-1) played like the hungrier team.
The Bears out-hustled and out-muscled UCLA for 50-50 balls
throughout the game, outshooting the Bruins 13-8.
Freshman forward Stephanie Wieger, who entered the game at the
beginning of overtime, notched the game-winner, a seven-yard shot
that skipped past UCLA goalkeeper Valerie Henderson in the 105th
minute.
“We’ve been assuming we’re going to beat
teams, and that has been a problem,” Ellis said.
“It’s an area psychologically that we need to work on.
I don’t think all the starters played as well as they can
play, and they know that.”
Sunday’s loss was UCLA’s fourth of the season
against an unranked opponent. Though the Bruins have won five of
their six matches against ranked teams, they have also been upset
by unheralded Maryland, Utah and Washington State.
“It’s been really weird,” junior forward Iris
Mora said. “We’ve talked about it, but I don’t
know what’s going on. I don’t know whether we get tired
after one game, but we need to figure it out.”
Out of synch from the outset against the Bears, UCLA
didn’t generate very many scoring opportunities, but it
appeared to capitalize on one in the 57th minute.
The Bruins served a corner kick in front of the net to freshman
Danesha Adams, who headed the ball past Cal goalkeeper Ashley
Sulprizio and into the back of the net. But the referees called an
obstruction penalty on forward Crystal James, nullifying the goal
and preserving the scoreless tie.
“Unless (Crystal) is physically boxing someone out,
she’s allowed to stand in front of the keeper,” Ellis
said.
“The refereeing was poor, and both teams
suffered.”
The loss is especially damaging for UCLA because it drops the
team one-half game behind first-place Arizona State in the Pac-10
standings. But the Bruins still control their own destiny because
they will travel to the desert next weekend to play the Arizona
schools before finishing up the regular season at crosstown rival
USC.
“Once again our backs are going to be against the wall
because there are teams ahead of us,” Ellis said. “But
we’ve made our bed and now we’ve got to come together
and figure out what we’re going to do.”