It took a golden goal, players in a dog pile and emotional parents in the audience, but the No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer team finally managed to rewrite the dynamics of its rivalry with Stanford.
What was once a seven-game losing streak to the Cardinal was finally erased last October, and it’s been replaced with two-straight victories en route to a national championship with the Bruins ending the Cardinal’s 2013 season for a change – unlike in 2012 and 2010, where the reverse happened.
But when No. 3 Stanford makes the trip to Drake Stadium on Thursday night to begin writing this year’s chapter of the rivalry, it’ll be like looking straight into a mirror for both teams.
“I think we have a similar style, and both teams are super competitive this year,” said senior forward Rosie White. “It’s going to be interesting to play a game against a team that matches up so closely to us.”
It’s a style of soccer that has also managed to generate some eerily similar results.
Over the 12 games played so far in this season, the Bruins have accumulated a tally of 26 goals and so has the Cardinal.
On defense, Stanford has only allowed two goals thus far and stands on top of the nation’s rankings with a 0.159 goals-against average. UCLA on the other hand isn’t too far behind, weighing in at third place, with just one more goal scored against them and an average of 0.241.
As for UCLA’s (10-0-2, 2-0-1 Pac-12) and Stanford’s (10-0-2, 2-0-1) season records – yes, they’re exactly the same.
Because of their similar records, both schools are currently tied atop the Pac-12 standings, and the outcome of the night’s match could either create some separation between the rivals or, in the event of a draw, keep them neck and neck in the race for the trophy.
Even though this matchup has the potential to have significant conference championship implications, it’s still only the fourth game in an 11-conference schedule. UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell said any attempts of soothsaying of either team’s bid for the trophy based on the night’s result will be nothing but premature.
“There’re some people out there talking about how Pac-12 could get 10 teams and that tells you how strong our conference is. And to say this one game decides who wins this conference would be crazy,” Cromwell said. “It’s an important game, obviously, but it’s not going to be the deciding game.”
But if UCLA wants to secure a win and an early lead in the race for the conference title, it’ll have to elevate both parts of its game.
On the defensive side of things, White said the Bruins will need to keep things tight in the wings to prevent a Cardinal fast break, and also counteract the physical play of Stanford’s top scorer, Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, by giving the sophomore center forward some physicality of their own.
Although Stanford may be entering the game with the best defensive record in the country, that doesn’t mean by any means that its defense is perfect.
According to Cromwell, the tapes from Stanford’s games against Utah and North Carolina tell the story of how the Cardinal defense can be exposed at times, and the UCLA coach is confident in her team’s ability to create chances – it’s just a matter of finishing them.
“It doesn’t have to be the prettiest goals,” said senior defender Caprice Dydasco. “As long as we get one in their goal and protect our goal, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”