Some streaks last years while others don’t last aslong, but the No. 2 UCLA women’s soccer team will look to extend its 12-match winning streak against Arizona State when it plays the Sun Devils today at Drake Stadium.
Although the Bruins lead the all-time record against the Sun Devils 15-1, both teams have made a statement in the Pac-12 with the results they have achieved.
Arizona State opened conference play at home, beating USC 1-0 with 19 seconds left in the match, but the biggest surprise and upset came when the team snapped Stanford’s 73-game home unbeaten streak almost two weeks ago.
But the Bruins have had some excitement of their own. Last week, UCLA ended Stanford’s seven-match winning streak against the Bruins, defeating the Cardinal 2-1 in double overtime. UCLA later handed Cal its first loss of the season.
Heading into the final stretch of the schedule and with 13 points, UCLA stands in first place in the Pac-12 standings. These two factors position the Bruins for a potential Pac-12 championship, but junior midfielder Sam Mewis said that although the team wants the title, it needs to focus on the present.
“I think we are just trying to take one game at a time and that’s our goal, but that’s in the future and the most important thing is recovering from (last) week and getting ready for the game (against Arizona State),” Mewis said.
“It’s going to be the hardest battle because Arizona State has proven itself to be a worthy team in the Pac-12 right now,” Kaskie said. “They obviously beat Stanford and they got some good results against the other Pac-12 teams. With that being said, we can’t overlook them because they’re quality opponents and they’ve proven that. So I think if we just play our game … they don’t have a chance against us.”
The Bruins now have six matches remaining in the Pac-12. Four of these matches will be home games, including the match today against the Sun Devils.
UCLA has not lost a match since losing to defending NCAA champion and then-No. 1 North Carolina back in September.
Redshirt junior midfielder Crystal Shaffie said that she is happy with the way the Bruins have been performing all season and that now, it’s just a matter of continuing with the momentum to have a strong finish.
“Coming into (the season) we had a lot of talented players so it was just a matter of figuring out a good system and I think we have done that and I think we develop every day as a team,” Shaffie said. “So I’m really impressed with our performances and it’s just a matter of keeping focus and maintaining the level that we are at and improving every day.”