The excitement that surrounded Drake Stadium on Sunday for Senior Day as the UCLA women’s soccer team took on Arizona in its final regular season home game never had the chance to die down, as the Bruins continued to find the back of the net as they have all year.
Just one game after allowing their first conference goal of the season in a 3-1 win over Arizona State on Friday night, the No. 1 Bruins (14-1-2, 7-0-0 Pac-10) responded by recording their eighth home shutout of the season, defeating Arizona 3-0.
“Two wins this weekend helps us move toward securing the conference championship,” coach Jill Ellis said. “The players kept their focus this weekend.”
A week after an emotional win over then-No. 9 USC, the Bruins were able to maintain their fire, something that Ellis has noted as a problem with her teams in the past, when there has sometimes been a letdown after a set of big victories.
This year’s team, however, has a different driving force behind them, something that Ellis feels will be a key difference-maker down the stretch.
“What I love about this team is that they just want to continue to get better,” she said. “Going in to the locker room at halftime with a lead, they still want to do better. I think that’s going to be the key for us in the long-run.”
UCLA held a 2-0 lead heading into the locker room against Arizona after sophomore forward Lauren Cheney scored her 19th goal of the season in the ninth minute and sophomore forward Kara Lang converted on a header with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Cheney, who now has 46 points on 19 goals and eight assists, is within reach of single-season school records for both points and goals, both held by Traci Arkenberg, who had 52 and 22 respectively.
Just five minutes into the second half of the game, sophomore defender Lauren Wilmoth put an end to any hopes that the Wildcats may have still had, sending in a cross that went untouched and into the net past Arizona goalkeeper Halley Brown.
“It was a cross and I was like, “˜Oh, OK, I’ll take it,'” Wilmoth said. “It just happened to go in the right place in the right time, but, yeah, it was definitely meant to be a cross.”
Though she recorded her second career goal, Wilmoth also played a big role on the defensive end, as she and the back line have continued to dominate the offensive attack of opposing teams.
Junior midfielder Catherine Calvert made a crucial save when a ball rolled past Bruin goalkeeper Valerie Henderson, and helped the senior achieve her sixth conference shutout, with the Bruins now outscoring Pac-10 opponents by a remarkable 16-1 ratio.
“It wasn’t that hard because of our awesome goalkeeper and our defense working so hard,” Wilmoth said. “All the teams were great, but we just did our job and it worked out like that.”
SENIORS HONORED: The three seniors who were honored for their four seasons of play were Danesha Adams, Henderson and Alma Playle.
“It was really exciting,” Playle said. “I can’t believe it’s all coming to an end. It’s nice to have a moment to look back at everything and celebrate with everybody.”
And for Ellis, it was an opportunity to show her appreciation for what the trio has meant to the women’s soccer program at UCLA.
“It was a day of reflection and to try to play for them,” she said. “They’ve been instrumental in getting our program to where it is.
“By far, their journey isn’t over this year, though.”
ONE STEP CLOSER: With the pair of victories this weekend, the Bruins are inching closer to a fifth-straight Pac-10 championship.
It would be the first time a team has accomplished that feat in conference history.
UCLA needs just one tie in either of its upcoming matches against Washington State and Washington to earn at least a share of the 2007 Pac-10 title. A victory would win the title outright.