As if a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals wasn’t enough
incentive, UCLA women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis unearthed
another way to inspire her team prior to Saturday’s
third-round clash with Duke.
Ellis read the Bruins a snippet of an article that appeared in
Friday’s edition of The Duke Chronicle, in which Blue
Devils’ defender Heidi Hollenbeck said that this year’s
UCLA team did not have the same prowess as last season’s
squad.
If Hollenbeck is to be believed, then a watered-down Bruin team
still had more than enough to defeat Duke 2-0 to move within a
single victory of a second consecutive trip to the Final Four.
“I’ve been picking and choosing what sort of things
to use to motivate them,” Ellis said. “I read them that
quote before the game. That’s why they were so fired
up.”
That Hollenbeck’s statement touched a nerve among the
players is not surprising because the 14th-seeded Bruins (16-6)
have said that opponents have been underestimating them all
season.
This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for UCLA, which lost
six key players from last year’s team to graduation or
national team duty. But after posting a third straight postseason
shutout, the Bruins find themselves in the quarterfinals for the
fourth time in the past five years, needing only a victory at
sixth-seeded Ohio State this weekend to get to the Final Four.
“Everyone thought we were going to struggle this
year,” freshman forward Danesha Adams said. “But we are
starting to prove them wrong.”
It was Adams who got UCLA off on the right foot against the Blue
Devils (15-8), tallying her third goal of the playoffs in the 24th
minute. Senior Lindsay Greco served the ball through traffic into
the box, where Adams trapped it with her chest and volleyed it past
Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher to give the Bruins an early
lead.
That goal seemed like it might be the match’s only score
until UCLA sophomore forward Bristyn Davis put the game away in the
87th minute. Taking a pass from forward Iris Mora, Davis got behind
the Duke defense and slid a shot past Lipsher and just inside the
left post.
“They continue to amaze me,” Ellis said.
“Some programs get to the playoffs and collapse, but we
continue to get hungrier and better around playoff time.”
Although UCLA out-shot Duke 13-7, the Blue Devils did not wilt
once they got behind.
In fact, Duke actually controlled the flow of play after
halftime, winning the possession battle and registering the first
five shots of the second half. Bruin goalkeeper Valerie Henderson
had to make just one save, however, and the UCLA defense held Duke
in check.
“We got excited knowing we were ahead, and we let down a
little bit early in the second half,” Adams said. “But
we realized we were on our heels, and we picked it back
up.”
The Bruins may have to elevate their level of play even further
next weekend because Ohio State figures to be their toughest
challenge yet in postseason play. It will be UCLA’s first
playoff game away from Drake Stadium and their first match-up with
a seeded team.
Should the Bruins get past Ohio State, their draw is very
favorable. The highest remaining seeds in the tournament are No. 4
Notre Dame and No. 5 Portland, and UCLA cannot meet either of those
teams until the NCAA championship game.
Right now, though, the Bruins are focused on Ohio State, and
they are hoping that the Buckeyes underestimate them like Duke
seemed to on Saturday.
“They can think what they want to think,” Greco
said. “As long as we play the way we are capable, we’ll
be fine.”