The women’s soccer team wanted to be stacked up against the best and test themselves when they traveled north to the Bay Area this weekend for a series of games against two top-tier teams.
The No. 1 Bruins passed with flying colors, shutting out No. 2 Stanford on Friday and doing the same to No. 19 Cal on Sunday.
“We played against two of the best teams in the country, so all in all, it was very successful because we got the results we wanted,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said.
Once again, the Bruins (11-1-2, 4-0-0 Pac-10) showed why they rightfully belong at the top of the polls, with sophomore forward Lauren Cheney continuing to score big goals at crucial junctures.
Against the Cardinal (10-2-2, 1-1-1 Pac-10), Cheney converted on a penalty kick in the 37th minute after being taken down by a Stanford defender in the box to put the Bruins up 1-0. Then she assisted junior Christina DiMartino with 15 minutes remaining in the game to put the second-ranked Cardinal away for good.
Cheney’s weekend wasn’t nearly over yet; she came out on Sunday afternoon and continued to find the back of the net, scoring in both halves to lift the Bruins to a 2-0 victory over the Bears.
Cheney now leads the Pac-10 in scoring with 38 points on 16 goals and six assists while scoring or recording an assist in all but three of the Bruins’ 14 games.
“I’m not surprised, I’m just pleased with the way she’s been playing,” Ellis said of Cheney. “She’s hitting a streak of scoring goals and finding the back of the net. It’s great for the team and for her own confidence.”
Cheney has been important, but the Bruins most likely wouldn’t be as successful if it weren’t for the role that the defense has played in conference play thus far.
The back line, which saw the return of sophomore Erin Hardy on Friday night against Stanford, hasn’t allowed a goal in any of UCLA’s Pac-10 games thus far, and senior goalkeeper Valerie Henderson recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
“Not to give up a goal this weekend against two excellent teams is great for the defense’s confidence,” Ellis said. “Cal and Stanford both have great front lines and we did a good job in the back to be able to shut them out.”
Ellis and her Bruin squad acknowledged the importance of each conference victory, as it is the only guaranteed method for entry into the postseason. Playing in the Pac-10 adds a completely different challenge for the Bruins, as they go up against the nation’s best on almost a weekly basis, as the top three teams in the nation as of Friday are in the Pac-10.
Though it creates more opportunities for a disappointing loss, UCLA prefers to look at it as the perfect chance to prepare for the postseason and build their confidence with each game. The wins over Stanford and Cal did just that, as the Bruins had struggled on the road prior to their most recent trip.
“We’ve had trouble on the road this season, but we came out focused, and the team deserves a lot of credit for the way they played,” Ellis said.
UP NEXT: The road doesn’t get any easier for the Bruins, as they will be pitted against No. 10 USC on Friday night at Drake Stadium.
The Trojans (11-1-2, 3-0-1 Pac-10) defeated Cal 3-0 on Friday, then reached a draw with Stanford two days later.
USC has an unbeaten streak of 10 games. UCLA has a 13-game unbeaten streak of its own, dating back to the first game of the season, a 2-1 loss to Texas.