Tonight, when the No. 1-seeded UCLA women’s soccer team hosts Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins will begin a journey that has ended in heartbreak the last few years.
Last year, the Bruins lost to the University of North Carolina 2-0 in the semifinals.
Two years ago, the No. 1-seeded Bruins were shutout 4-0 in the finals by Portland.
This year, the Bruins are determined to change their recent tournament history and bring home the first title in the history of the program.
But before the Bruins can think of visions of national title glory, the team must first concentrate on its present opponent: Cal State Fullerton.
“I’m really trying to avoid looking past this game at this point,” senior goalkeeper Valerie Henderson said.
This weekend will provide a challenging early test for the Bruins. Besides Fullerton, the Bruins are also grouped with the tough and talented San Diego and Oklahoma State. Coach Jill Ellis believes that this region is one of the toughest in the entire tournament, yet she views this as a positive for her team.
“At this point, the 64 teams in there, they are all good,” Ellis said.
“It’s good for us to come out and potentially play three quality opponents because you hopefully want to gain some momentum, and if we can play well against these difficult opponents, it might serve us better down the line hopefully.”
The Bruins first chance to gain that momentum is against the Titans.
On paper, the Bruins hold a sizeable advantage over the Titans. UCLA has a 10-0 all-time record against Fullerton, including a 3-1 victory in the second round of the tournament last year.
But both players and coaches are adamant about not overlooking the champions from the Big West Conference.
“They are an athletic team,” Ellis said. “They won their conference. I think that they are looking to possess. We obviously haven’t played against them this year so we are excited to play a team that we haven’t played thus far. But typically, a Fullerton team, they are really organized, have a good work rate, and we have the utmost respect for them.”
Ellis added that the Bruins, who will be without star forward Lauren Cheney, will need to concentrate on keeping their defensive shape, putting pressure on the ball, and creating scoring opportunities ““ things she feels they have been doing very well in the past few games.
If the Bruins advance to the second round, they will face the winner of the San Diego-Oklahoma State game.
The Bruins are 13-1-3 all-time against San Diego, including a 0-0 tie earlier this season. While the team is familiar with San Diego, UCLA has never played Oklahoma State in women’s soccer.
“We are more familiar with San Diego because obviously we played them,” Ellis said. “They are a very athletic team. They’ve got only two losses this year. Without looking past a team, we definitely respect the next two opponents.
“Oklahoma State, I don’t know that much about but I know that they have been a program that has been ranked for a fair amount of the year.
“So yeah, it’s going to be a very challenging weekend. I think that my players are excited. I think that we are actually excited about having difficult teams to play against.”
A source of confidence for the Bruins heading into the tournament this weekend was their incredible run through Pac-10 play.
The Bruins finished the conference season with a record of 9-0 en route to a record-setting fifth consecutive Pac-10 title.
The team believes that the tough competition the Pac-10 offers has prepared them well for the teams they will face in the tournament.
“I think that this year the Pac-10 was really hard and the teams were really good,” midfielder Christina DiMartino said. “I mean, it’s the past now … but I think that we are well-prepared from playing the teams in the Pac-10.”
That atmosphere was a point of emphasis for Henderson.
“What happens now is that everybody wants to make the game bigger than it really is,” Henderson said. “We need to just realize that we are playing the same game that we have been playing. We need to come out and do the same things. A little more is at stake, but we just need to do what we have been doing.”