UCLA women’s soccer returned to Westwood after having one of its most successful road trips over the weekend, notching two victories against Stanford and Cal, two of the top teams in the Pac-12.
Heading into the start of the season back in August, the Bruins knew they were going to face tough competition in their nonconference slate, facing top-20 opponents on the road.
The team is now playing conference teams and its schedule hasn’t gottten easier, but the Bruins were able to maintain their unbeaten record in the Pac-12 after four weeks of conference action.
These matches were part of four matches the Bruins played in just ten days, where the Bruins registered three wins and one draw.
The trip to the Bay Area this past weekend was more special for some of the players on the team.
“I know myself and a lot of the girls are actually from Northern California, so there is always an extra bit of excitement to come down to the Bay Area,” said redshirt junior midfielder Crystal Shaffie. “I think (Stanford and Cal) were two very good opponents, and we’re happy that people stepped up and we came out with two victories.”
The first stop was against Stanford, where UCLA cut the Cardinal’s seven-game win streak against the Bruins with a 2-1 win in overtime.
Junior midfielder Sam Mewis said that UCLA was the better team against Stanford and UCLA earned the win.
“We went up a goal and they scored with a minute and a half left and we just knew that we deserved to win,” Mewis said. “We worked really hard so we just kept going to the overtime and I think (the win) was such a team effort. … I think it just shows that when you stick together as a team you’ll be successful. I had never beaten Stanford since I have been at UCLA so that was really cool for me personally.”
Freshman midfielder Lauren Kaskie scored the game-winning goal, the first goal of her career.
“The goal was vital and it couldn’t have come at a better moment because we were the better team in that match and it was a well-deserved win for us overall,” Kaskie said.
Although this is her first year as a Bruin and the rivalry between Stanford and UCLA is new to her, Kaskie said that she was not in unfamiliar territory because she had been following the rivalry before.
“I watched the Pac-12 games when they played Stanford, (but) this year it was just a different mindset going into the game. … All this year, we wanted to beat them and we were a better team at the end of the day.”
Shaffie, one of the team’s veterans, said that although the freshmen are new to playing against rivals, they stepped up to the competitiveness of the matches.
“I think it’s just understood that we come with the same momentum for every game so it doesn’t really matter if we play Stanford or Cal or whoever – we just step up and play our game and treat every game the same,” she said.