If the UCLA women’s soccer team was hoping for a quiet end to its regular season, Friday’s game against USC might just be the antithesis of that.
The Trojans won’t be hosting the No. 1 Bruins in the regular venue of McAlister Field. Instead, the battle between the crosstown rivals will gain a gladiatorial splendor, as it is scheduled to be played at the L.A. Coliseum on “Break the Record Night” – a night that USC hopes to be able to attract 10,000 attendees and break the attendance record for an NCAA women’s soccer game.
“It’ll help us momentum-wise, getting used to that high-tension atmosphere. It’ll just be beneficial for us all the way around,” said senior defender Abby Dahlkemper. “I think that’s really exciting that they’re trying to (break the record), and for women’s soccer as well. And what better way to do than against USC.”
Even though the Bruins (17-0-2, 9-0-1 Pac-12) are the leaders in the Pac-12 standings, this game against the Trojans (12-5-2, 6-4-0) could still create some ripples within the conference, especially if the Bruins want to solidify their defense of the conference title.
“Right now we co-own it,” said senior defender Megan Oyster. “If we win there it’ll be such a cool experience because we’re playing a team that’s our main rival, and we want to own L.A.”
On paper the Bruins have already clinched the Pac-12 championship, but a draw or win against USC will solidify sole ownership of the trophy.
On the other hand, if the Bruins lose, they will have to share the trophy with the Stanford Cardinal, which has also accumulated 28 points after beating Cal 3-2 on Thursday.
“It’s not fun sharing. No one wants to share a championship,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “Who says they want to be ‘co-champions?’ No one. We’ve obviously deserved it thus far. The only team that can catch us mathematically is a team we’ve already beat.”
Though USC is currently unranked, the team has shown it’s no pushover. Thus far in their 19-game season, the Trojans have only failed to score on three occasions, and their 2.16 goals per game average ranks No. 36 in the nation.
But if there’s a team that’s likely to hand the Trojans their fourth goal-less game, it just may be the No. 1 defense in the country – a title currently held by the Bruins.
It happens to also be a defense with a goalkeeper who’s on her way to breaking a different record. Senior Katelyn Rowland is currently tied for the single-season consecutive shutouts record with six, and could surpass that on Friday.
“(Our team defense has) been really good this year,” Dahlkemper said. “We’re just going to defend their dangerous offense the way we’ve defended every other team and hopefully keep a clean sheet for a win and for the record too.”