When a coach is drenched from head to toe with a sports drink, it’s usually because she’s done something right.
For first-year UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell, that feat was guiding the team to its first conference championship since 2008 with a 2-0 win over Oregon on Sunday. And her reward: one of the most extensive Gatorade baths of her career.
“I was actually focused on (freshman midfielder Claire Winter) getting her first touch of the game, and then (redshirt senior goalkeeper) Alana Munger’s so tall that she just about dumped it all over my head,” Cromwell said. “It was probably the most thorough Gatorade bath I’ve ever seen, because it just got the front, back, all the way down to my pants, everything.”
The Bruins began this weekend’s campaign for Pac-12 supremacy on Friday night, facing the first of two Oregonian opponents.
The Oregon State Beavers brought a physical brand of soccer to Drake Stadium, entering double digits in fouls committed by the end of the night. But the Bruins answered back with three goals, including one by junior midfielder Sam Mewis and a shutout to take a 3-0 victory.
“We worked on (the play) probably 25 times … in practice, all week it’s been leading up to it. I don’t think we ever did it right once, so it felt really good to just finally get it when it counted,” said Mewis about scoring the second goal of the night.
The win against the Beavers increased the Bruins’ conference point tally to 23, five points above second-placed Stanford. This also meant that a win on Sunday against the Oregon Ducks would guarantee that the Pac-12 title would find a new home in Westwood.
The Bruins, however, had a slow start in their 2-0 win over the Ducks. The Bruins ended the first half 0-0, but the introduction of left-footed freshman defender Gabbi Miranda as a left winger at the start of the second half opened things up for the Bruins.
“We played her everywhere this year, center back, left back and she was in kind of a flank forward position,” Cromwell said. “We wanted a left-footed presence coming in on that side to get a cross in … and her ability to whip in a left-footed cross is fantastic.”
A mishit shot by freshman forward Darian Jenkins found Miranda in the box, who tried to score on a backheel, but found a Duck defender instead. However, sophomore forward Taylor Smith latched onto the deflection, and sent the Bruins up 1-0.
“That goal could have come from anyone, everyone just had the urgency and heart to do it, but for me to put it in was amazing. We’ve all been working so hard, just to do it for my team was awesome,” Smith said.
The Bruins sealed the deal in the 80th minute after Miranda did exactly what her coach wanted, and sent in a cross from the left flank to find sophomore forward Kodi Lavrusky, who slotted in the second Bruin goal from the far post.
The Pac-12 trophy came to the Bruins at an optimal time; Sunday’s game took place during UCLA Parents’ Weekend and the culmination of the team’s “Adopt a Classroom” program, which meant family members and young fans alike were able to celebrate with the 2013 Pac-12 champions.
“In front of all of my family, and all these little kids, it was just really inspiring for everyone to see us succeed and all the hard work we’ve put in,” Miranda said. “It’s just been an amazing ride and we keep getting better and better, and hopefully all the way through until Dec. 8.”