With just two games left in the season, it’s fair to say that in retrospect, the No. 3 UCLA women’s soccer team has had its share of bumps and bruises.
The Bruins’ 2009 campaign got off to a shaky start with a lopsided 7-2 loss against powerhouse North Carolina in the first match of the season for both teams.
A 1-1 tie against San Diego following the season-opening loss put the Bruins’ record at 0-1-1, clearly not the result that the team was looking for.
And then there was the season-ending injury to redshirt senior and key player Kara Lang midway through the season, overshadowed only by a recent three-game suspension of seniors Kristina Larsen and Lauren Wilmoth.
But according to sophomore forward Sydney Leroux, for all the tumults of weeks past, the Bruin team that will step out on the field today is quite different from the one at the start of the season.
“From then to now, it’s a completely different team, and I think people should know that,” she said. “The team that showed up in the first two games is definitely not the team that people are going to see in games to come. Our possessions, our movements off of the ball and our teamwork have gotten so much better.”
But that doesn’t mean the Bruins don’t have their work cut out for them this weekend. Leaving the confines of Drake Stadium for a weekend series in the Evergreen State, UCLA (15-2-1, 6-1 Pac-10) will take on Washington (11-4-3, 3-2-2 Pac-10) tonight at 7 p.m, followed by a matinee match against No. 17 Washington State (13-4-1, 5-1-1 Pac-10) on Sunday at 11 a.m.
“Washington is having one of its best years, and they’re an opponent we can’t overlook,” coach Jillian Ellis said. “And Washington State is one of the premier teams in our conferences.
“To go up there and play at their fields at this time of the year is going to be challenging “¦ but we don’t know where we could be sent for the playoffs, so we have to show that we can perform.”
For freshman defender Lucretia Lee, a native of Bothell, Wash., the weekend trip is a homecoming of sorts, but Lee is still well aware that the priority is to leave with two more in the win column.
“We really have to come out and play hard,” she said. “If we finish strong, it will send a message to the other teams that we really want it.”
What will further be at stake this weekend is something that the Bruins have won for the past six years: the Pac-10 championship.
No. 1 Stanford (19-0, 8-0 Pac-10) has already clinched at least a share of the title. However, the Bruins can still tie for first in the Pac-10 if UCLA win out both matches and California (10-7-1, 4-4 Pac-10) defeats Stanford on Sunday.
“It’s still one of our goals, to win the conference championship,” Ellis said. “But at this point, it’s about taking care of these next two games “¦ and focusing on what we can control.”