If it weren’t for Powell Library towering in the background, no one would have guessed that it was a home game.
The summer crows in the stands of Drake were sparse on Sunday. Nearly as many fans were wearing the white and orange of the opponent, Illinois, as UCLA blue and gold.
However, the Bruins didn’t let that deter them ““ they closed out their weekend with a 2-0 win over the Fighting Illini in their first home game of the season.
UCLA boasts an undefeated record, 3-0-0, after wins over Illinois on Sunday and Fresno State on Friday.
After a strong showing at Fresno, coach B.J. Snow was less than pleased with what he saw from his team on Sunday, despite the win.
“I wish we’d have put early chances away … that makes it hard on ourselves but at the end of the day we got the result,” Snow said.
The Bruins were sloppy in the first half, which led to the 0-0 tie at halftime. They got off seven shots, but never managed to capitalize, with some balls soaring past the goal and crosses going wide.
Senior defender Lucretia Lee emphasized that the Bruins came out really slow in the first half.
However, they turned that around toward the end of the half with significant bursts of power from several players.
Their separating speed ““ the immediacy with which the Bruins were able to move up and away from the defenders on their heels ““ was key in getting them on the scoreboard.
“Our speed was very effective today. We don’t want to rely on it, but it came in handy in a game where we didn’t necessarily do all the other parts well,” Snow said.
However, UCLA seemed determined to not let the second half reflect the first. Just minutes in, senior forward Zakiya Bywaters rushed the goal and managed to push the ball into the back of the net.
She had two clutch goals against Connecticut last weekend, but since the game was canceled, they didn’t go down as official stats.
“I really wanted to capitalize on the chances. … We just want to keep going forward with the wins,” Bywaters said.
While offense is what’s highlighted in the final score, UCLA’s defense had a big impact on the game. At the rare times that Bruin forwards let the ball get to the defensive side of the field, the back line and goalkeeper were on top of it with some masterful saves.
In one tangle, Lee narrowly avoided a Bruin own goal, clearing the ball out of the box after it bounced off of sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland’s back toward the goal.
“We did a lot better job sticking with our marks … that really cut down on their possessions, which really helped,” Lee said.
This weekend marked the beginning of a seven-game homestand, which continues on Friday against Wisconsin.
It was a tough weekend, with two games so close together, but Snow said he believes his team is all the better for having gotten through it.
“When you have two games so close to each other, that’s part of the nuance of surviving games to win, surviving these situations.”