UCLA women’s soccer already has the No. 1 defense in the country with its 0.187 goals against average.
But the team has still managed to convince critics that it possesses the ability to keep the back of its net untouched.
Friday’s 5-0 win over the University of San Diego didn’t just kick off UCLA’s journey through the NCAA tournament with a dominating victory; it also cemented yet another clean sheet for the Bruins (19-0-2).
With this latest shutout, senior goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland officially penned her name in two different record books, setting the UCLA record for most shutouts in the season with 17 and an NCAA record for career shutouts with 53.
If it were up to her, “Katelyn Rowland” wouldn’t be the only name going in the books.
“My name’s going down the record books, but I wish all of them could go in there,” Rowland said. “Abby (Dahlkemper), Megan (Oyster), Caprice (Dydasco) and Ally (Courtnall), all of them. They’ve been so good, and they’re really a huge part of the reason I’ve got this record.”
The four senior defenders who make up the backbone have developed a reputation for suffocating opposing offenses, restricting opponents to an average of 5.1 shots per game thus far in the season.
In the 21 games that the Bruins have played, only four teams have managed to make those limited opportunities count, and each of those opponents was kept to one goal at most.
“It just speaks volumes for our team defense,” Dahlkemper said. “Katelyn’s always solid in goal, and there’s the back line to the forwards and midfield.”
Not only have the Bruins stopped opponents going forward in the run of play, but they also remained disciplined when the other team switches to set pieces as its primary means of offense.
“The defense was outstanding, denying shots. We gave up a few corners there at the end, but that’s what they were going for … to get a couple chances,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “We just feel really confident that if anything comes in the air that Katelyn’s going to snag it.”
While UCLA’s defense has remained as solid as the team’s grip on the No. 1 ranking, which it has held since the start of the season, the Bruin offense has also made its way to the national forefront with its 2.81 goals per game, coming in at No. 6 in the country.
Even though the UCLA defenders’ primary job is to keep their opponents’ names off the scoreboard, all four of them have managed to sneak their own names into the scoring column at different times during the season and have even added a couple of assists into the mix.
“The defenders were just awesome,” Cromwell said. “They’re contributing to the attack, and they’re a big reason why we’re getting shutouts.”
If a team playing UCLA wants to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season, it will have to make sure it can create enough chances against the Bruin defense.
After that, it’ll have to beat a record-setting goalkeeper.