When teams say that they will take what they learn in practice onto the field, it’s usually just a turn of phrase.
But throughout the season, the women’s soccer team has been delivering on that statement.
After opening the conference season with a series of 1-0 wins and scoreless draws, the team kept emphasizing their focus on finishing during practice.
Come their Oct. 21 game against Arizona, UCLA (15-1-3) netted six goals and tallied three multi-goal wins since then to close out the regular season in dominant fashion.
With the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, all that practice on scoring will play an even more crucial role for UCLA.
UCLA faces a tough test against New Mexico (12-4-4) at Drake Stadium. The Lobos are the Mountain West Conference champions and went undefeated in league play.
They also tout the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in junior goalkeeper Kelli Cornell and the conference Offensive Player of the Year in senior forward Jennifer Williams.
“New Mexico is a very dangerous team and they play in a tough conference,” said coach B.J. Snow. “Their defense is very organized … and they have just about everything. It’s a pretty loaded team. “
New Mexico may be a dangerous team, but as has been the case all season long, UCLA is not really paying that much attention to that.
“We are going to try and play our game,” freshman defender Abby Dahlkemper said. “We want to keep possession of the ball as well as we can.”
The Bruins enter the tournament as second-seeded, earning home field advantage in the first three rounds of the tournament.
“We know that we have a target on our backs,” Dahlkemper said. “Coming in at such a high seed, everyone wants to do well and knock people out that are ranked higher than them.”
Teams may be intent on beating UCLA but for sophomore midfielder Jenna Richmond, there is an easy way to prevent an upset. Simply dominate play early.
“We know they are going to come out hard, and we just have to bring our own energy,” Richmond said. “It’s the first round and everyone has their jitters early on, so it’s important we get after it in the beginning of the game.”