COLUMBUS, Ohio “”mdash; Halftime could not have come quickly
enough for Danesha Adams.
A sluggish first half in which she didn’t generate many
scoring opportunities left the freshman midfielder eager for a
chance to redeem herself.
And for the second time in this year’s playoffs, Adams did
just that. She jump-started the Bruins’ lethargic offense in
the second half of Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinal match against
Ohio State, sending UCLA into the College Cup for the
second-consecutive year.
“When she goes ““ it’s like boom, a shot out of
the cannon,” coach Jill Ellis said. “When she goes, she
goes.”
Nine minutes into the second half, Adams blazed past three
Buckeye defenders on the right side of the field, pushing the ball
beyond each player as she made her way toward the goal. She crossed
a ball to the center penalty mark, yet no Bruin was there to
receive it.
Eight minutes later, she made another run down the right side
and fired a shot that barely missed, catching the side netting.
However, in the 64th minute, Adams’ efforts were finally
successful in leading to the Bruins’ lone goal. While on a
fast break, she was tripped from behind by Buckeye defender Emily
Francis from 22 yards out.
Francis got a red card and a ticket to the Ohio State locker
room while UCLA got the game-winning goal on Caitlin Ursini’s
free kick that slid past Buckeye goalkeeper Emily Haynam.
“I told Danesha at halftime that she hasn’t even
found the game yet,” Ellis said. “I told her to put
them under pressure with her speed, and that’s exactly what
she did.”
Though the Buckeyes had been undefeated at home throughout the
season, on Saturday, Adams was also playing in front of a home
crowd.
An Ohio native, Adams is from Shaker Heights, a suburb outside
of Cleveland. During the first half, Adams said she didn’t
play as well as she wanted to in front of her family and friends,
many of whom had come to watch her play. But in the second half,
she turned it up.
Adams’ second-half spark was similar to her second-round
performance in the NCAA tournament, when the Bruins took on San
Diego at home. Scoreless at halftime, Ellis gave Adams an ultimatum
““ either score a goal in the next 15 minutes or get
comfortable on the bench.
The team’s second-leading goal-scorer behind Bristyn
Davis, Adams scored two goals in the second half against San Diego
to help lead the Bruins to a 3-0 victory.
Buckeye coach Lori Walker said Adams was effective because she
took on players one versus one.
“Our strength is our team playing together as a unit, not
one versus one,” said Walker, who also tried to recruit Adams
out of high school.
Though it wasn’t Adams who scored the game-winning goal,
her pressure on the Buckeyes gave the Bruin defense time to rest
and the Ohio State backline something to worry about.
“Every time Adams had our defense one on one, I was on the
edge and ready for a shot,” Haynam said.