COLLEGE STATION, Texas ““ Youth was served Friday night as
the top-seeded UCLA women’s soccer team prevailed 4-0 over
No. 11 Florida State before a crowd of 6,701 on the campus of Texas
A&M in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup.
Freshman forward Christina DiMartino notched her first two-goal
game of the season to propel the Bruins (22-1-2) into
Sunday’s national championship game against No.1-ranked
Portland.
“I was very proud of my players; I felt we prepared very
well,” coach Jill Ellis said. “We’re playing good
soccer at this point. Obviously I’m very pleased, but now
we’re looking forward to Sunday.”
The Pilots of Portland advanced to the final by defeating Penn
State on penalty kicks, 4-3, after playing to a 0-0 tie in double
overtime.
On a night when the two senior All-American stars for the
Bruins, defender Jill Oakes and forward Iris Mora, were making
their third consecutive appearance in the College Cup, it was the
underclassmen playing like seasoned veterans. Their youthful
exuberance might just help UCLA win its first national title.
DiMartino’s first tally came off a set piece in the 39th
minute as she was able to put a foot on a deflected ball and guide
it into the back of the net.
Sophomore midfielder Danesha Adams scored her sixth goal of the
postseason less than five minutes later as she lofted in a header
off a free kick from Mora that just squeaked under the
crossbar.
The score gave the Bruins a commanding 2-0 lead at halftime, but
Ellis wasn’t about to let her team get complacent. She knew
the Seminoles were still a dangerous team having defeated perennial
powerhouse North Carolina a week earlier to advance to the College
Cup.
“At halftime, (Ellis) told us to keep the foot on the
gas,” said Adams. A 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead in
soccer so she told us to keep going, and that’s what we
continued to do.”
DiMartino added another tally early in the 59th minute on a
beautiful bending shot from 15 yards out that lofted over the
goalie and into the right side off the net. She was set up by
fellow freshman McCall Zerboni and the shot seemed to catch the
Florida State goalkeeper off-guard.
“It was a great experience (scoring two goals),”
DiMartino said. “It’s a great feeling and all, but it
was with the help of everyone else.”
That “everyone else” included two more of
DiMartino’s young teammates in freshman Kara Lang and junior
Stephanie Kron. Lang continued her postseason tear as she blasted a
shot served in Kron into the net from eight yards out. Lang leads
the Bruins with 8 goals this postseason and has scored in each of
UCLA’s five playoff contests.
The Bruin defense once again stifled its opponent, only allowing
two shots on goal, both in the second half. In shutting out the
Seminoles Friday night, UCLA has not allowed a goal this postseason
and has outscored its opponents 25-0.
Florida State coach Mark Krikorian credited UCLA’s
athletes for stopping his high-scoring forward India Trotter and
the rest of the Seminoles.
“They’re very athletic with good
organization,” Krikorian said of UCLA’s backline.
“That combination usually means a stingy defense.”
It is that stingy defense, along with the talented youth, that
the Bruins hope will lead it to a national championship on
Sunday.
NOTES: UCLA’s semifinal win will be replayed on
TV Saturday, at 9 a.m. (PST) on ESPN2. Sunday’s championship game
will be televised live at 10 a.m. on ESPN2. … Mora’s assist
to Adams gives her 15 on the season and breaks her own single
season school record. … UCLA’s offensive outburst allowed
20 different Bruins to see action in the match. … Florida
State’s Melissa Samokishyn suffered an injury with less than
six minutes left in the match. The Seminoles’ coach stated
that she potentially has a broken leg. … UCLA will not have a
chance to avenge its only loss of the season, a 1-0 setback to Penn
St. in double overtime back on Sept. 9 as the Nittany Lions lost in
their semifinal match.