In the UCLA women’s soccer program’s most successful season, change was everything. And it all started at the head.
Following the departure of former coach B.J. Snow, UCLA appointed a new coach in Amanda Cromwell.
Along with a new coach came a tactical overhaul; the 4-3-3 system that the Bruins relied on last season was scrapped. In its place, Cromwell implemented a 4-2-3-1 system which incorporated the use of Total Football – a style of play that gives players the freedom to move from their fixed positions, while teammates fill their spots.
But a new system called for new positions for some personnel , and even team veterans weren’t spared.
For senior forward Chelsea Stewart, Cromwell saw the ability to make key runs and felt that a transition from full back to winger would make the best of that ability.
Senior midfielder Jenna Richmond was given the reverse treatment; she traded in some of her offensive duties for more defensive ones, becoming one half of a holding midfielder duo alongside junior midfielder Sarah Killion.
It was a change that junior defender Abby Dahlkemper said gave the backline a boost.
“As a defender, you just feel so comfortable having them back.” Dahlkemper said. “Our formation just worked out perfect and speaks to the players that we have.”
That additional commitment to defense has paid dividends for the Bruins, who ended the season with only eight goals scored against them and a goals-against average of 0.308, making them the best defense in the country.
After making the cross-country trip from Florida to California, one thing Cromwell needed was a change in her ride. And it was through shopping for a new car that one of the team’s mottos was born.
“’Oscar Mike’ is a military term for ‘On Mission,’” Cromwell said. “When I moved to UCLA I had to get a new car. My Jeep was an ‘Oscar Mike’ edition, … so when the girls came to campus in August, we said ‘Oscar Mike’ was going to be one of our tags and something we can always say to pump each other up.”
The Cromwell era also included a change of heart. After junior defender Ally Courtnall decided to quit the team after the end of last season, Cromwell began a relentless recruiting process that not only convinced Courtnall to rejoin the team, but created a bond between the new UCLA coach and the player she calls her first UCLA recruit.
“I definitely felt a lot closer to her than I’ve did with my past coaches just because of the relationship that we established before I decided to join the team,” Courtnall said. “I definitely got really close with her, and I’m really happy and ecstatic that she asked me to come back, because I definitely would’ve regretted not being back here right now for this. “
The dynamic right back’s reintroduction to the team was a key part of the Bruins’ postseason success. Her speed and ability to stick to opposing left wing players crippled many of the Bruins’ opponents’ offenses by shutting down their left-sided options.
The graduation of former UCLA defender Lucretia Lee meant that change would inevitably happen for the Bruin back line. There was a space in the other center back spot next to Dahlkemper – a space that junior defender Megan Oyster took the initiative to fill after Cromwell gave Oyster the chance to prove herself in front of friends and family.
“It’s a big testament to Megan and what she’s done; she earned her way into a starting role throughout her training sessions,” Cromwell said. “Her first start, I think, was the Notre Dame game, and she just stepped up big.”
From a player that wasn’t expected to start this season, to one that concluded the season with the fifth most minutes played on the team, 2013 proved to be the year for Oyster’s evolution, and the College Cup gave her a stage to show just how important she was to the team.
Oyster’s ability to execute aerial clearances and block the crossing lanes of Virginia’s right flank showed was one of the reasons why the nation’s No. 1 offense could only manage one goal against the Bruins.
But she showed new levels of versatility in the national championship game, demonstrating that she also possessed the ability of a playmaker, creating the goal that won it all for the Bruins.
From the players’ reactions to all the changes implemented, it seems like the biggest change of all lies in the team’s atmosphere and the players’ trust in their coach.
“I told Amanda after the game, ‘Not only are you the best coach I’ve ever had, you’re the best person I’ve ever met,” Oyster said. “She has brought our team so much closer together and everything she’s done for us, you can’t even explain it.”
With all that effort that Cromwell has put in effecting change, the one that will be most noticeable by the entire UCLA community will be the change of numbers from ‘109’ to ‘110’ at the entrance to Pauley Pavilion.
And how does the coach who’s accomplished so much in her first season as a Bruin hope to follow up that success? Surprisingly enough, by doing the same thing.
“We have to win another one,” she said.
GO BRUINS!