The last time UCLA women’s soccer played Northwestern was in 2010, losing to the Wildcats 1-0.
On Friday night, the Bruins evened the series.
No. 2-seeded UCLA (17-2-2, 8-2-1 Pac-12) took down Northwestern (12-8-3, 7-3-1 Big Ten) 1-0 in overtime in the round of 32.
[Related: No. 2 seeded UCLA women’s soccer squares off against Northwestern]
“They bent, but they never really broke until the very end,” said coach Amanda Cromwell, hired three years after the Bruins’ most recent game against the Wildcats. “It was a game we kind of expected but we didn’t think it was going to take that long to get one in.”
UCLA’s offense was aggressive as soon as the clock started, with shots on goal from both freshman forward Ashley Sanchez and junior forward Hailie Mace in the first five minutes.
In the 10th minute, Mace had a breakaway down the stretch towards Wildcat goalkeeper Lauren Clem, staying just ahead of three Northwestern defenders. She fired one toward the net, but Clem was there to deny her.
Another close call came on a UCLA corner kick two minutes later, but the Bruins once again failed to find the back of the net amid the crowd of white jerseys.
“They were definitely super compact and defending really hard,” Mace said.”Probably one of the best teams we’ve played against, defending-wise.”
UCLA continued to search for a hole in the Wildcat defense throughout the first half. The Bruins logged 15 shots and 10 corner kicks in the first 45 minutes, compared to Northwestern’s single attempt for each.
“Any team that plays in a five-back is always hard because they clog up a lot of the spaces that we like to play in.” said redshirt sophomore forward Anika Rodriguez.
Sophomore midfielder Jessie Fleming returned to Westwood to log her first postseason minutes after leaving to play for the Canadian National Team. Fleming was inches away from a goal in the 63rd minute, but despite kicking a high ball toward the net, it ricocheted off the top bar and into Clem’s gloves.
“(Fleming) just does it all – she doesn’t always score the goal but she just is always in the right spots and is a playmaker,” Cromwell said. “That one, I don’t know how the keeper saved that one.”
UCLA’s offense continued to attack throughout the second half, but their shots continued to fall short of the goal line. However, the Bruins were able to outscore the Wildcats 26-2 during the 90 minutes of play.
“We got a bit unlucky,” Cromwell said. “There were so many dangerous opportunities, so I was happy with how the game was but it was nerve-racking that it took so long to score.”
Both teams grew restless to get on the scoreboard as regulation time ran out.
Two minutes into overtime, the frustration came to an end.
Rodriguez rushed toward the box with the ball, striking a shot that finally made it past Clem. The goalkeeper ended the night with 12 saves but ultimately couldn’t keep one final ball from sailing in.
“Their keeper was one of the best I’ve seen if not the best I’ve seen all year with some of the saves she made,” Cromwell said. “Usually you get 28 shots and 13 corners, you score maybe two, three, even four goals. … so that’s a testament to her.”
No. 3 seed Virginia took down Pepperdine 3-0 earlier on Friday, and will face UCLA on Sunday in the third round of the tournament. The Bruins took on the Cavaliers earlier during the regular season, posting a 2-1 win.
“(Virginia) is possession-oriented – they’re like us in that sense, they like to knock it around,” Cromwell said. “So it’s going to be a chess match, a battle of possession at times.”
UCLA will continue hosting the tournament, and will enjoy a home-field advantage in the round of 16 on Sunday.
“We created a lot of really good opportunities,” Rodriguez said. “We just need to focus more on finishing them but I’m really proud of this team.”