The familiar sports cliche says that the next game is always the
most important. For the No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer team
(14-1-1, 4-0-1 Pac-10), that’s doubly true.
When the Bruins take on No. 9 California (11-2-2, 4-0-1) in
Berkeley today, the conference championship could very well be on
the line. And UCLA, the Pac-10 champion for the last two seasons,
would certainly like to keep its title.
“The way it’s playing out, it’s important
because we’re tied for first,” coach Jill Ellis said.
“Both teams will know what’s on the line, and I’m
looking forward to it being a really competitive match.”
Ellis admits that this will be a very tough road trip for the
Bruins, who also travel to Palo Alto to face Stanford (8-5-2,
2-2-1) on Sunday.
Despite the fact that several players have been suffering with
illnesses and the team has had a difficult time getting all 11
starters on the field at the same time in training, the Bruin coach
feels that her team is ready for this very important weekend.
“We’ve talked about ‘SC, then we got through
the Oregons and Washingtons, and now it’s Cal and Stanford,
two ranked teams,” Ellis said. “We’ve got to
bring it.”
The reason for the team’s focus in training can possibly
be explained by what happened the last time the Bruins took the
field for a match. Despite outshooting Washington State 27-3 last
Sunday, the Bruins had only a 0-0 tie to show for their
efforts.
It was just one of those games for the Bruins, who hit the
woodwork three times and had a handful of other chances just
miss.
“What I liked was that it hurt,” Ellis said.
“I could tell in their faces at the end of the game, and in
my stomach, that it hurt to come away with a result that we
didn’t want.
“At this point it probably wasn’t that bad to have
that feeling to kind of re-energize you.”
The Bruins will need to be energized when they face Cal, a team
that plays a very up-tempo, attacking style of soccer. Cal
generally subs all five of its attacking players after 22 minutes
of both the first and second halves.
The Bears are also solid on defense, having allowed only five
goals all season. Their only two losses have come to No. 7 Santa
Clara and No. 15 BYU.
“They’re 100 miles an hour,” Ellis said.
“If we can put some of our own momentum on it and ride their
momentum when it comes, it will be an interesting
match-up.”
Stanford, unranked in the NSCAA poll, is No. 17 in Soccer
America. The Cardinal had a tough weekend last week, playing to a
scoreless draw against Arizona State and losing to Arizona.
Ellis said that playing at Stanford is never easy, but she
expects her team to be ready. The Washington State match is
forgotten, and it’s time for the Bruins to move on.
“I don’t think that’s in their minds
anymore,” Ellis said. “That’s one of the great
things about when you’re in season. You can’t dwell on
any game because you have a big one ahead.”