In a match in which the archenemy is the rival, the only thing
that matters is the win.
Although UCLA women’s soccer arrived to the match against crosstown rival USC as the conference champions, the team wanted to conclude its regular season slate with a win.
The Victory Bell rang four times for the Bruins, who defeated the Trojans 4-1 in front of their home crowd at Drake Stadium.
“It was a team effort and it was great to get that win,” said senior defender Chelsea Stewart. “It definitely took everyone to get there. I think the best part about it was every time we scored and right after the game we heard the bell ring. So thank you, football team, it was exciting to have it at our game.”
It was a special night for Stewart and the Bruins because the seniors on the team were recognized on Senior Night in front of fans and family members.
Another senior who was playing in her last regular season match was midfielder Chelsea Braun, who said she had mixed emotions about her last season with the Bruins, but was happy with the way the team played against the Trojans.
“I’m so happy that we performed the way we did,” Braun said. “We have been so consistent throughout the year and we are continuously getting better. This isn’t even our best (match). We are just going to keep getting better every single game.”
The match started slow for UCLA. The team conceded its first goal of the season at home, but was able to come back and prevailed against the Trojans.
USC’s sophomore midfielder Jamie Fink opened the scoreboard game at the 13th minute. But the Trojans’ excitement was short-lived after UCLA freshman forward Darian Jenkins netted the equalizer 15 minutes later.
The first 45 minutes ended 1-1, but the Bruins came out re-energized for the second half and junior midfielder Sam Mewis, junior forward Rosie White and sophomore forward Taylor Smith each scored once to give the Bruins a 4-1 win.
For Stewart, the win against the Trojans was important to continue building momentum for the postseason.
“I think we are on an upward hill right now,” Stewart said. “Right after the game, (coach) Amanda (Cromwell) told us that some of us had our best games, and I think that is a testament to the team, her effort and it’s a great momentum builder to start the tournament with.“
Although she is not a senior, redshirt sophomore forward Courtney Proctor was feeling emotional for her teammates and wanted to get the win for them, but she also wanted to prove who the best team is.
“It’s just exciting we already won Pac-12 last week and this game we just wanted to come hard for the seniors. I got a little emotional because I’m close with them,” Proctor said. “This for us was game one of the playoffs. This (match) wasn’t anything to be taken lightly. It’s our rivals; we lost to them last year. We had steam under our heads so we wanted to show who runs L.A.”