After suffering heartbreak in the past three seasons, the UCLA
women’s soccer team’s ultimate goal of winning a
national title has finally come within sight.
In the opening weekend of the postseason, the No. 2 Bruins
(19-3) took their first two steps toward that goal, advancing to
the third round after beating UNLV 6-1 on Friday night and Cal
State Fullerton 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The Bruins appear to be peaking at just the right moment, coming
together as a more cohesive unit with an impressive offensive
display after working all season to find a measure of consistency
through continually shuffling lineups.
“We’ve had a lot of things going on as a team
““ a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries,” junior
Danesha Adams said. “I think right now, we’re coming
together and that’s all that matters.”
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UCLA will next face the University of Florida on Friday night in
third-round action, as the Gators defeated Marquette 4-3 in penalty
kicks on Sunday.
The Bruins’ performance on Sunday might have been the best
attacking display they have put on all year, if not for a game Cal
State Fullerton squad that would not lie down despite being heavy
underdogs. The Bruins outshot the Titans 29 to 11, with several
shots taken from point-blank range, but Titan goalkeeper Karen
Bardsley played the game of her life, thwarting several UCLA
chances on the way to making 14 saves.
“In the first half, it was like being in a hockey
crease,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said of her team’s
offensive onslaught. “The ball was just like, “˜ping,
ping, ping.’ (Bardsley) came up big. She did very well.
(Fullerton has) a nice team, a very good team.”
Even though the Titans appeared up to the challenge, they could
not hold down UCLA’s budding offense as the Bruins pounced
for two goals early in the first half. Freshman Lauren Cheney
scored her 17th goal of year, quickly followed by Adams’ 10th
score just 59 seconds later. Adams also capped off UCLA’s
scoring, beating Bardsley off a header just two minutes into the
second half.
Friday’s match against UNLV provided more offensive
fireworks as UCLA found the back of the net a season-high six
times.
“I thought we played quite well (Friday night),”
Ellis said. “Some of the finishing tonight was the best
I’ve seen. It was pretty clinical.”
Indeed, several of the goals the Bruins scored against the
Rebels were of the spectacular variety. Adams scored from 35 yards
out on a blast that found the crossbar and went straight down into
the net, leaving the goalkeeper frozen in place. Stephanie Kron
then followed with a blast from just outside the penalty box that
found the right post before shooting across the goal into the left
netting.
The Bruins hope their hot offensive streak continues into the
following rounds. They know that the road to the title won’t
be easy and that they must focus on the task at hand.
“This championship for us is about the team,” Kron
said. “It’s not about one girl scoring more goals than
another or getting more playing time, it’s about making it to
Dec. 3 and that final game and coming through with that 100th
championship.”