COLLEGE STATION, Texas “”mdash; Just 1 minute and 32 seconds.
That’s all it took for Portland’s Christine Sinclair to
end UCLA’s run through NCAA tournament play without allowing
a single goal. Before Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Portland, UCLA had
shut out each of its five previous playoff opponents, outscoring
them 25-0. The Bruins had been riding a 19-game unbeaten streak, a
school record, when it saw its run to a national title go up in a
purple cloud of smoke. “I still have complete faith and pride
in my defense,” said sophomore goalkeeper Valerie Henderson,
who set a UCLA single-season record with 20 victories Friday.
“They’re amazing players, and everything they did this
year was great.” The defense that showed up Sunday at the
Aggie Soccer Complex was not the same stout version that had
stymied its opposition all year. Before the final, UCLA had only
allowed multiple goals once all year in a 3-2 overtime victory over
USC. When the Pilots scored their third goal in the 42nd minute, it
was the first time all year they had allowed three goals in a game,
let alone faced a deficit so large. Prior to Sunday, the Bruins had
only allowed 8 total goals and recorded 18 shutouts including each
one of its postseason games. In fact, UCLA had not been scored on
during the regular run of NCAA tournament play in their last 11
games. Last year, only a Notre Dame penalty kick broke that
team’s long shutout streak. This was also only the third time
a playoff opponent has scored on the Bruins in the last 20 NCAA
games.
GOAL-SCORER EXTRAORDINAIRE: Portland senior
forward Christine Sinclair had powered the Pilots offense all
season. Sunday’s game was no different as her tally in the
second minute proved to be the only score the Pilots would need to
go on and win their second national title. Her work up front
pressured the Bruin backline all game and was a constant thorn in
UCLA’s side. “She’s just an amazing player,
really strong,” UCLA sophomore goalkeeper Valerie Henderson
said. “I think on another day we could take her, but it was
just her day.” It seems as if it has been Sinclair’s
day all season and throughout her entire career. Named the
tournament’s offensive MVP, Sinclair holds the NCAA
Tournament points record with 56 (25 goals, 6 assists) and finished
as the NCAA leader this year in goals with 39. UCLA freshman
forward Kara Lang knows all too well the offensive skills Sinclair
brings to the table, as the two are teammates on the Canadian
National Team. “I guess the best part about this game is that
we’ll never have to play against Christine Sinclair
again,” Lang said. “She’s a phenomenal player,
and I’ve known her for years. Everything she does seems so
methodical and so planned, but really it just comes natural to her.
She steps it up when it’s most important, and she’s
definitely a force.”
LANG SHINES IN POSTSEASON: Lang didn’t
let all the goal-scoring fireworks go to her Canadian National
teammate. She led the Bruins in the postseason with an incredible
17 points on 8 goals and 1 assist. Only the Pilots were able to
keep her off the board. “It’s been a great
experience,” Lang said of her freshman season.
“I’m proud to be able to say I played with this
team.” The team as a whole will go down statistically as one
of UCLA’s best ever. The Bruins set a team record for
victories (22), shutouts (17) and an unbeaten streak (19). Senior
Iris Mora finished her career as the all-time NCAA tournament
scorer for the Bruins with 21 points. Sophomore Danesha Adams is
second with 20, and Lang is third with 17. Mora also set the single
season assist mark at 15 with one Friday against Florida State.
Adams had the second best single-season point total with 46 this
year.
EXTRA NOTES: The city of Portland is going to
hold a celebration to honor the Pilots on Friday. … The Bruins
beat 10 ranked teams on the season. … Portland becomes just the
third team to win multiple NCAA women’s soccer titles (2002,
2005). Notre Dame and North Carolina are the other two schools. …
Portland is now 2-1 in national title games. … Sunday marked just
the fourth time UCLA failed to score, and just the second time they
allowed multiple goals. … UCLA is the only Pac-10 team to reach
the College Cup multiple times. Stanford is the only other Pac-10
school to reach the Final Four back in 1993.