Scott Chandler watched through the viewfinder of his Nikon as the UCLA women’s team conceded its first goal of the season.
The UCLA Athletics photographer and physiological sciences professor’s reaction painted a picture of the magnitude of that one goal: “It’s been a while since that’s happened,” he said.
Meanwhile, a little closer to the action, Wake Forest goalkeeper Lindsay Preston added the finishing stroke to the UCLA team’s picture of disappointment. After several jumps of jubilation, the freshman rushed all the way up to the halfway line to embrace a teammate. They were the first team to score against UCLA in seven games.
Yes, No. 1 UCLA won 2-1. But its game against Wake Forest on Friday could’ve admittedly been a lot better.
“I think there (are) definitely things we’re gonna look back tonight and work on. (Conceding) that goal was definitely a little bit disappointing,” said senior forward Rosie White. “We’re not completely satisfied with that performance (Friday).”
The game against Wake Forest was never expected to be an easy one; coach Amanda Cromwell knew beforehand that their Atlantic Coast Conference opponents would bring the conference’s signature brand of physicality over to Drake Stadium.
“We knew they were pretty physical. They had some big kids; they had some tall kids. They man-marked (senior midfielder) Sam Mewis all over the field, and that kid was big,” Cromwell said. “It was a physical game and a physical challenge for sure.”
There were pulled jerseys, shoves and lunging tackles all over the pitch as the Demon Deacons (2-4-0) made sure the Bruins (6-0-1) got a little taste of how soccer was played on the East Coast.
But the ACC way backfired early in the ninth minute, when Wake Forest freshman forward Sarah Medina’s shove on Mewis inside the penalty box sent the Bruins’ leading scorer to the ground.
The ensuing penalty kick came down to White, who isn’t UCLA’s usual penalty taker but was chosen for the job on the spot by senior midfielder Sarah Killion. The forward would repay her captain’s faith and make no mistake from 12 yards out, putting the Bruins up 1-0.
Two minutes later, Mewis would get her revenge by latching on to a cross from junior forward Taylor Smith to put the hosts up 2-0.
But things started to go downhill after the Bruins established that early lead. Cromwell said she noticed her team had taken its “foot off the gas” in the second half, and the Bruins seemed to have “lost (their) focus” and replaced it with complacency.
“As Amanda (Cromwell) was saying, we haven’t accomplished anything this year yet. We have a couple wins, but for us to be complacent with that was unacceptable,” Mewis said. “It’s not the end of the world, but we definitely have to work on that and try to stay focused for the entire game.”
That change in attitude began to manifest itself as the team would go on for the next 79 minutes without scoring another goal. The Bruins looked a lot less dangerous even with their attempts on goal, shooting only four times, compared to their 10 shots managed in the first half.
But the Bruins were truly punished in the 78th minute, when they gave up their first shot on goal all game – a shot that managed to float its way to the back of the Bruins’ net. And just like that, UCLA’s six-game clean sheet streak was gone.
In that one moment, the UCLA defense that had looked nigh indomitable all season had been exposed.
“It was a cross and we weren’t marked up on the back side,” said senior defender Abby Dahlkemper. “We’ll make sure to look at the video and see what happened so that doesn’t happen again.”
The Bruins’ lack of focus might have stemmed from the fatigue accumulated over an early schedule of consecutive two-game weekends. But for the first time all season, this week they’ll have a Sunday without a game and a chance to rest some tired legs as they reflect on their mistakes while playing Wake Forest.
“We have a few bumps and bruises, and a couple days away might be what we need,” Mewis said. “We just need to hit the reset button and come back next week ready to go.”