For one half, it looked like Cal goalkeeper Emily Boyd was poised to be the player of the game.
The one caveat to that award being that the No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer team gave the goalie plenty of chances to eke out saves in the first half – and for 45 minutes she proved effective.
But just as it seemed UCLA had a hand in giving Boyd the hypothetical award, they played a leading role in snatching that honor away just a minute and a half into the second half, eventually finishing the game with a 3-0 win.
Boyd and her defensive ensemble made things difficult for the Bruin forwards early in the game, stifling their ability to shoot inside the box, with their man-marking defense.
“We were taking what they were giving us – and it was some shots from dist
The midfielders did just that. But Boyd seemed ready for every shot on target, managing to keep the ball from entering the back of the Bears’ net in the first half.
Although UCLA (12-0-2, 4-0-1 Pac-12) did create some chances on the shorter option, they never seemed to be able to make the ideal pass to break free from the No. 22 Cal (10-4-0, 2-3-0 Pac-12) defense early on.
“We were just a little out of sync in a few passes,” Cromwell said. “But I thought we were dangerous and played well in the first half.”
Once the second half came along, it was a completely different story.
Junior forward Taylor Smith drove down the right wing before unleashing a cross that took a bounce that evaded the reach of Boyd onto the path of an advancing Darian Jenkins. Although the sophomore forward was heavily marked by a Cal defender, it just wasn’t enough to stop her from scoring UCLA’s first.
“I just followed (the ball) into the net – with the girl,” Jenkins said with a laugh.
UCLA wouldn’t stop there.
Ten minutes after Jenkins broke the deadlock, senior midfielder Sarah Killion would finish what the Bruins were unable to accomplish in the first half by scoring a goal from range to double the Bruins’ lead.
Now with a goal in the box and another from range in the books, the Bruins showed they still had some more tricks up their sleeves – set pieces.
“I always do a couple free kicks just before warm ups and I was feeling really good about them before this game,” said senior defender Abby Dahlkemper.
And it was indeed a good day for the Bruin free kick taker, who forced an acrobatic save from the Boyd in the 73rd minute. Dahlkemper would force another leaping save from the Cal goalie, but this time, Boyd would only be able to parry the ball straight to the feet of redshirt freshman defender Zoey Goralski, who volleyed home UCLA’s third goal.
Although UCLA showed its offensive prowess Monday night in front of Cal’s goalmouth, it was also a defensive win for the Bruins, who for the first time all season completed a clean sheet against a ranked Pac-12 team.
“The team defense was on point and I think we’re off to a good track,” Dahlkemper said. “Definitely feels good to get a shutout and score three goals.”