This post was updated Nov.18 at 6:30 p.m.
As the saying goes, goals change games.
Against Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it was an early goal for UCLA women’s soccer that set the tone for its eventual 2-0 victory.
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In the fourth minute, senior midfielder Annie Alvarado sent a cross into the box. The ball bounced around and fell to the feet of freshman forward/midfielder Jessie Fleming, who tapped the ball to Alvarado for a simple first-time finish.
“(Freshman forward) Sunny Dunphy and Fleming kept scrapping and fighting for it and a shot opened up, so I took it,” Alvarado said.
The Bruins used the momentum from the goal to force the Cornhuskers to come out of their defensive shell.
Dunphy, in the 22nd minute, sprang free into a one-on-one with Nebraska goalkeeper Aubrei Corder, but Dunphy hit her shot off the mark. Her reaction was filled with disbelief.
“In the first half, we did a good job of possessing and dictating tempo and play,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “Getting the goal early was huge. I think Sunny should’ve had one there in the first half. It would’ve been good to go up 2-0, but in the end, scoring early was huge because it changed the way they defended us.”
Nebraska tried to counter and find an equalizer later in the first half. The Cornhuskers came close when a bullet header off a driven cross was sent toward the goal only to be cleared at the goal line.
That was the only golden opportunity the Bruins would allow.
In the second half, they shut up shop and smothered Nebraska’s offensive plays before they could develop.
“I don’t think we gave them a shot on goal the whole second half, so if anything our defense got better,” Cromwell said. “We had some turnovers, but our backline was very good.”
On the other hand, UCLA’s free-flowing attack, which threatened to build on the lead, went missing for most of the final 45 minutes. While the team maintained its possession advantage, the possession it had was without an edge. The final ball was lacking and potential scoring chances went by the wayside.
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Late on, following a forward push by the Cornhuskers, the Bruins reignited their attack.
Fleming had a solid opportunity with less than 10 minutes to play. She saw Corder off her line and went for a chip shot, which landed in the retreating goalkeeper’s mitts. Frustrated, Fleming covered her face in her jersey.
She tried something similar in the first half, as Corder consistently played away from her net, but missed badly.
UCLA put the final nail in the coffin with three minutes left. Fleming found redshirt junior winger/right back Zoey Goralski, who charged down the flank unchallenged and rolled the ball across the face of goal, where senior forward Amber Munerlyn knocked it home.
“We got it on the counter and took advantage of their backline having stepped and (Goralski) got forward quickly,” Fleming said. “I just saw the space and trusted that the fullbacks were going to get high for that one and it was a great ball in (from Goralski) to Amber Munerlyn.”
With the victory, UCLA will face No. 1 seed West Virginia – which defeated Ohio State 1-0 in double overtime – in the Sweet 16 on Sunday.