The state of Washington proved to be a difficult location for UCLA women’s soccer this weekend.
After losing its first Pac-12 match since 2012 to unranked Washington (9-2-1, 2-1-0 Pac-12) Thursday night in Seattle, UCLA (5-6-0, 1-2-0) suffered its second straight loss to No. 21 Washington State (9-2-0, 2-1-0) three days later in Pullman. Falling 2-1 to the Huskies and 4-2 to the Cougars, the Bruins now have a sense of urgency with just eight conference games remaining on the schedule.
Coach Amanda Cromwell expressed serious discontent about how the Bruins played in Washington.
“It’s pretty rough, losing two up here is not what we came to do”, Cromwell said. “We gave up some bad goals and you can’t do that in this league – can’t give up soft goals and expect to win.”
Cromwell attributed her squad’s poor play to both the lack of desire and the high level of inconsistency of the team.
“We did a great job coming back today and making it 2-2, and then we just let up another soft goal,” Cromwell said. “We score a goal, get some momentum, and feel like we’re going to tie it up, but then we give up a soft goal. It’s been kind of the fabric of these games.”
After giving up a goal in the 65th minute against Washington, senior forward Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski scored a rebound off a shot from senior forward Taylor Smith.
However, in the 85th minute, the Bruins allowed a simple one-touch goal that resulted from a deflection off a Bruin defender. This motif continued on Sunday, as the Bruins rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half to tie the score, only to allow two more goals and give the Cougars a 4-2 win.
“It’s not about talent. We clearly have talented players. It’s about the heart, the grind and the hustle. Washington State kind of out-worked us,” Cromwell said. “So we just have to be harder. We’ve been a little soft, and we’re a good soccer team, but being soft isn’t going to do it from here on out.”
Cromwell said that the only way to remedy the Bruins’ current situation is to win. Although her squad features many new faces, Cromwell said she believes other factors besides skill have prevented this year’s team from more success.
“I have to agree with my coach. We have spurts where we’re going at them, and we’re dominating, and then we just lose our consistency and cough up opportunities,” said junior forward Darian Jenkins. “We just need to want it more. It’s about being consistent and wanting it more than the other team and coming out harder than they do.”
How does UCLA come back from this? Jenkins had a succinct answer.
“I’m not sure,” Jenkins said. “But we need to figure it out and bring it to Drake this weekend.”
The Bruins face a difficult schedule ahead, as their remaining games are all in-conference. Their next opponent, the Arizona Wildcats, boast an 8-2-1 record overall, 2-1-0 in the Pac-12.
Complied by Vikram Sairam, Bruin Sports contributor.