It seems as if a broken record is playing in Westwood for the
UCLA women’s soccer team. Friday, the tune kept on going as
the top-seeded Bruins routed second-seeded Virginia 5-0 behind the
strength of four goals from sophomore midfielder Danesha Adams. The
win marks the fourth-straight shutout for UCLA in the postseason,
as the Bruins punched their ticket to a third consecutive
appearance in the College Cup. They will face No. 11 Florida State
on Friday after the Seminoles upset formerly top-seeded North
Carolina, 5-4, in penalty kicks. “Right now we’re
having a great postseason,” Adams said. “(Teams)
don’t know what to do between me and (freshman Kara Lang).
It’s either her or me or other people on our team. Right now,
we’re trying to work our way back to a national
championship.” Indeed, the Bruins have been powered this
postseason by the high-scoring duo of Adams and Lang. Lang led UCLA
through its first three tournament games, netting two goals in each
match, but Friday, the star was Adams. The midfielder, who Bruin
coach Jill Ellis called the “fastest player in the
nation,” put her speed on display, sneaking past the Virginia
defense for a goal set up by senior forward Iris Mora in only the
fourth minute. Mora again found Adams 10 minutes into the second
half for a shot that was initially blocked, but Adams headed in the
rebound for her second tally. “Danesha got four goals, but we
were unbelievable defensively,” Ellis said. “I thought
Iris was outstanding. The midfield did an unbelievable job. This is
a great team.” Ellis has stated all year that the key to this
year’s squad has been balance, which was on full display
against Virginia. And even though Adams dominated the scoring, the
victory over Virginia was still a team effort. Lang managed to get
free for her seventh goal of the postseason in the 73rd minute.
Freshman Christina DiMartino finished with two assists, as did
Mora. Freshman McCall Zerboni set up Adams’ final goal in the
82nd minute with a through ball to the left side. The Bruin
backline again played its defensive song perfectly, recording its
fourth-straight shutout of the postseason and school-record 17th on
the season. Bruin midfielders also helped maintain possession for
much of the second half, which helped lead to Adams’ barrage
of goals. “What’s nice about having the variety of
players and the talent is that if one player is having an off day,
the other ones pick up the slack,” Ellis said.
“They’re just nice and balanced attacking the
goal.” One song that won’t be heard around Drake
Stadium anymore, though, is the that of seniors Mora and captain
Jill Oakes. Both played their final home games as Bruins, which
made for an emotional night, but both are ecstatic to be moving on.
The seniors are also looking forward to finishing some unfinished
business, namely winning a national title that has eluded them in
two previous trips to the College Cup. “We’re confident
and playing hard,” Oakes said. “This is the best
feeling right now. I’m so excited for the Final Four.”
Mora agreed. The team is focused and looking forward only toward
the chance of winning its first national title. “I
don’t care who’s in front of us,” Mora said.
“We just have to come out hard. We have two more games to
win; that’s it. We’re not losing.” And with the
speed and talent of teammates such as Adams, the Bruins might just
be able to make a new song play in Westwood: that of a champion.
“All we’re here to do is get a national
championship,” Adams said. “We’ve got two seniors
(in Oakes and Mora) that deserve it. They’ve been there three
times now, and we’re here to win it.”
PENALTY KICKS: This year marks the first time
North Carolina will miss the College Cup in consecutive years …
Portland and Penn State, both top seeds, will face off in the other
national semifinal … Adams’ four goals tied Traci
Arkenberg’s single-game record set nine years ago. Adams now
has the most goals in UCLA tournament history with eight … Mora
has 14 assists on the year and holds the single-season record with
15. Mora is also the career points leader for UCLA in the
tournament with 20 … This year’s Bruins set the school
record for wins in a season with 21.