Bruins close to great finish

The No. 2 UCLA women’s soccer team is now 18 games into a 20-game season.

And the loss column still reads zero.

The Bruins got over a huge hump last weekend, taking down highly ranked Stanford and California, and now find themselves two wins away from an undefeated regular season.

“The Cal game was a big game,” coach Jill Ellis said. “We worked so hard Friday night ““ that was the emotional dip we were afraid of. Now it’s kind of our eye on the prize kind of thing; winning another conference championship was part of our goal at the beginning of the season.”

But the team’s 16-0-2 is not meant to imply that it hasn’t been challenged.

The team has had to come from behind twice this season: when tied to USC in the second half and when trailing Washington State.

It has also had to battle to two scoreless ties.

The match against the Cougars about a month ago may have marked the Bruins’ biggest test to date.

UCLA needed a late goal in the 90th minute to knot the match at 1-1 before sending it into overtime where it would eventually snatch the victory.

So despite the unblemished record, players and coaches are convinced that the team isn’t overconfident.

“We’ve been down in games,” senior defender Erin Hardy said. “I think that’s as important as anything. We’ve had to fight to get back up and win. The games haven’t been easy.”

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: With only two matches left before the postseason begins, now would be the perfect time for the Bruins to hit their stride.

Ellis said she saw a number of positive things come out of Sunday’s match against Cal.

“In our game on Sunday, our possession was fantastic,” Ellis said. “Our possession in the final third (of the field) was fantastic. Those are the parts of the game that you want to be better at. Defensively we’ve been solid from the get-go.”

That being said, Hardy sees room for continual improvement before the road to the College Cup starts two weeks from Friday.

“I think we can play better,” she said. “I think we can possess better, play quick and sharper. There are times in games where we have really good soccer and times in games where we give it up and we have to get in rhythm.”

But the three goals against a strong Cal team left the team with a good taste in its mouth as it heads to Oregon to close out the season.

“Are we getting better, yes,” Ellis said. “People left the field Sunday feeling good about what we can do with the ball. It felt good. Those are the things as a coach that you want them to feel going in. I think we’re starting to believe.”

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: With last weekend’s set of wins, the Bruins closed out their third consecutive undefeated home season and stretched the nation’s longest home winning streak to 51.

The Bruins haven’t lost at home since falling to Pennsylvania State in September 2005.

While Ellis said she is indeed proud of the success, she cautioned against resting on laurels and paying too much attention to statistics.

“Streaks only last until they’re broken,” Ellis said.

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