As the UCLA women’s soccer team blitzed through the first rounds of the NCAA tournament, it seemed like nothing stood in its way.
Going into the 2008 College Cup, UCLA was riding a 24-match unbeaten streak and boasting the best defense in the nation, which held a single-season school record of 19 shutouts.
The Bruins seemed poised to finally take home the school’s first women’s soccer national championship after six consecutive trips to the College Cup ““ that is, until they faced North Carolina.
Last December, the Bruins met their match in the also undefeated Tar Heels. The UCLA squad looked nothing like the soccer juggernaut that played during the regular season when it fell to North Carolina 1-0 in the semifinal match at Cary, N.C.
This Saturday, the Bruins open the 2009 season by returning to the Tar Heel State to play the very team that shattered their championship dreams last year.
“Grudge matches are always a big deal,” redshirt sophomore Chante Sandiford said. “We’re definitely working really hard; we’ve been going double-day (practices) for a while. Every day people are really intense at practices because we all know what we want, and that’s that win against North Carolina.”
However, UCLA will be fighting an uphill battle against North Carolina. History is on UNC’s side as it owns a 7-0 all-time record against the Bruins, four of those wins occurring in the College Cup. The Tar Heels, who have collected 19 women’s soccer championships, will be playing at their home field.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge because they’re at home, but I think we can definitely pull it out because we have a lot of heart,” Sandiford said. “We have been practicing a lot lately and the team looks great.”
A look at the team
The 2009 Pac-10 women’s soccer preseason poll registered UCLA at No. 2 behind Stanford.
The Bruins lost a sizable class of seven seniors to graduation, including 2009 Pac-10 Player of the Year midfielder Christina DiMartino, midfielder McCall Zerboni, All-American defender Erin Hardy and goalkeeper Ashley Thompson.
The UCLA squad returns seven starters while welcoming eight newcomers.
Of the veterans, senior forward Lauren Cheney, junior defender Lauren Barnes and sophomore forward Sydney Leroux were named on the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch List.
A member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gold-medal team, Cheney had been spending her off-season with the national team, helping the U.S. team to win three matches against Canada. The Bruins’ leading scorer for the third year in a row also earned her third NSCAA/adidas All-American selection.
Barnes contributed to last year’s top-ranked Bruin defense, which led the nation in goals against average (0.23).
Leroux, who earned Pac-10 All-Freshman honors last year, started 18 matches before passing up the remaining games of the season to play in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile. She more than held her own in the competition as she won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe, which is awarded to the tournament’s top player and top scorer, respectively.
UCLA will also be relying on redshirt senior and Canadian national team member Kara Lang, senior forward Kristina Larsen and junior midfielder Kylie Wright.
To replace goalkeeper Thompson, who was behind UCLA’s 19 shutouts last season, the Bruins look to goalkeepers Sandiford, sophomore Yiana Dimmitt and freshman Alana Munger.
Midfielder Zakiya Bywaters, midfielder Chelsea Cline and midfielder/forward Ahsha Smith headline the new freshman class.