Flat on her stomach, engulfed by a jubilant mass of tangled
bodies, senior midfielder Lindsay Greco could hardly believe
it.
UCLA, thanks to Greco’s golden goal in double overtime,
had defied the odds. The Bruins, seemingly out of contention in the
Pac-10 heading into the weekend, clinched a share of the conference
championship by edging host USC, 3-2, Sunday afternoon at
McAllister Field.
“We knew what was at stake,” Greco said. “We
knew we had to win this game. We came in here with a lot of heart,
we kept pounding them, and we found a way to get it
done.”
Prior to the weekend, UCLA (13-6, 6-3 Pac-10) had already
conceded the conference championship because the scenario for them
to win it was so unlikely. But when all three teams in front of
them failed to win on Friday night, the defending champion Bruins
somewhat miraculously controlled their own destiny once again.
UCLA, which has squandered several opportunities to seize
control of the conference race already this season, did not let
this one slip through its fingers. Erasing a pair of one-goal
deficits against the Trojans, the No. 14 Bruins clawed their way
into a tie with Arizona (15-5, 6-3) atop the Pac-10 standings.
“(Senior defender) Kendal Billingsley called me Friday
night, and said if we win, we can get a share of the Pac-10,”
UCLA coach Jill Ellis said. “I’m not into sharing, but
I’ll take it.”
The Bruins were fortunate to even get a share of the title after
falling behind early 1-0 and 2-1 against the Trojans (9-9-1, 3-6).
USC scored its first goal in the fifth minute when forward Shannon
Cross lobbed an 18-yard rainbow shot over the head of UCLA freshman
goalkeeper Valerie Henderson. After the Bruins’ Bristyn Davis
knotted the game at 1-1 in the second half, the Trojans struck
again in the 59th minute. After Henderson misjudged a 35-yard free
kick from USC defender Lauren Shepherdson, whose shot appeared to
be heading wide of the right post, the ball took an odd bounce,
glanced off Henderson, and into the net.
But faced with some adversity and a second-half 2-1 deficit,
UCLA gradually elevated its game.
Peppering USC goalkeeper Julie Peterson with shots, the Bruins
finally tied the game at 2-2 in the 83rd minute when junior Crystal
James pushed a shot off the right post and into the net.
“Once we felt that rush after the second goal, we knew
what we had to do,” James said. “We’ve been up
and down all season, but this was USC and everything was on the
line.”
In overtime, UCLA once again had the better of the play. James,
Bristyn Davis, and Danesha Adams each had scoring opportunities in
extra time before Greco’s game-winner.
Collecting a pass from Adams at the top of the box, Greco
unleashed a right-footed bullet that rocketed past Peterson and
into the upper left corner of the net. Raising her arms in
jubilation, she tumbled to the ground in exhaustion where she was
mobbed by her teammates.
“I had a feeling we were going to put one through,”
Greco said. “Danesha almost hit it, but I was glad that she
left it because I had the better angle and I was able to put it
away.”
The victory extended UCLA’s unbeaten streak against USC to
eight games, and helped erase the memory of what has been a
frustrating conference season at times.
Now UCLA can start fresh when the NCAA Tournament begins this
weekend. The Bruins, who will likely host their first two games,
will learn their postseason fate this afternoon when the NCAA
brackets are revealed.
Regardless of where they’re seeded, Ellis says she’s
pleased UCLA will go into the playoffs on such a high note.
“It’s just what we needed,” Ellis said.
“To be down a goal and come back twice, it says a lot
about us. This game took everything we had, we came through, and we
showed great character.”