Trying to continue with a successful start of the season, the UCLA women’s soccer team had a tough mission this weekend, playing against two top-20 teams.
Coming off two shutout victories at home last weekend, UCLA traveled to South Bend, Ind., for the 21st annual Notre Dame adidas Invitational where it defeated Marquette 2-1 and Notre Dame 1-0 on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
On Friday, UCLA endured an early deficit when No. 20 Marquette’s Ashley Handwork scored only 45 seconds into the match.
But the Bruins rebounded quickly as freshman forward Darian Jenkins scored a goal to equalize the game four minutes later.
The score remained tied until the second half when junior midfielder Samantha Mewis gave the Bruins the 2-1 victory by scoring her first goal of the season.
Despite trailing early, UCLA responded to the deficit and swiftly recovered.
“It’s really important (to come back from a deficit) because the first five minutes after a goal or an injury or anything happens is the time in which you are most likely to score again,” Jenkins said. “So that is the reason why we have to pick up the intensity to get another goal and pressure as much as we can, so we did that and won the game.”
The Bruins carried the momentum to Sunday’s match, notching a 1-0 victory against the Fighting Irish. The solitary goal came when No. 7 Notre Dame’s defender mis-hit a clearance, giving Jenkins the opportunity to slide the ball under the goalie and score.
Coach Amanda Cromwell was pleased with the wins and the team’s overall performance.
“We didn’t play all that well, but we did some very good things. (The game against Notre Dame) was more of a complete victory, we outshot them, (and) it showed a lot about the girls and their perseverance and really their mentality to win and figure out ways to win,” Cromwell said.
The tough schedule continues for the Bruins this weekend. The team will remain on the road and travel to Durham, N.C., to play the defending NCAA champion in No.1 North Carolina Friday and No. 12 Duke two days later.
But Mewis was content with the Bruins’ victories this weekend and expressed that the difficult early season matches provide a good opportunity for the team to improve and correct any errors.
“We wanted to come into (the games) and perform well and the win is just a bonus,” Mewis said. “I think having tough competition this early in the season is going to be really good for us in the long run and I think we learned a lot this weekend.”