There is a saying: A picture is worth a thousand words.
The silence that pervaded the scene after UCLA women’s soccer’s 2-1 defeat against Virginia seemed to be the only thing that spoke on the sidelines of Drake Stadium. It painted a picture of 32 players, some in tears, others with blank stares, but all reacting to the result.
The uneasy quiet was only occasionally pierced by sobs or the soft shuffling of a player’s slow footsteps as she walked over to comfort a teammate with a hug.
Just more than 90 minutes earlier, the No. 1-seeded Bruins and No. 2-seeded Cavaliers began a fight for a place in the 2014 College Cup.
It was a chance for both teams to settle their differences in a rematch of their 1-1 draw in the semifinal showdown one season ago, which UCLA won on penalty kicks. It was also a Friday night marquee matchup between UCLA’s top-ranked defense and Virginia’s nation-leading offense.
“It could’ve been a final match of the NCAA tournament easily, hands down,” said Virginia midfielder Morgan Brian.
It also turned out to be Virginia’s night.
The Cavaliers (22-2) asserted control early and seemed poised to break the Bruins’ (21-1-2) streak of more than 900 minutes without conceding a goal.
They did just that 33 minutes into the game, ending the streak at 969. Cavalier center back Emily Sonnett became the unlikely figure that managed to sneak an unchecked run into the Bruins’ penalty box.
Sonnett, already donning a cast on her right arm, placed her body in more harm’s way against UCLA senior goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland for a 50-50 ball that resulted from a deflection.
Rowland sent Sonnet tumbling to the turf, but before she did so, the Virginia defender had already volleyed the loose ball that would roll in for the go-ahead goal.
Virginia received another chance in the 71st minute, when forward Veronica Latsko’s cross was cleared by UCLA sophomore midfielder Annie Alvarado directly to the feet of Brian, the reigning MAC Hermann Trophy winner.
“I heard (coach) Steve (Swanson) from the sideline say, ‘Hammer time,’ and I just hit it,” Brian said.
The attacking midfielder’s left-footed strike from outside the penalty box went straight into the back of the net and seemed to nail the door shut on UCLA’s season.
Chants of “U-V-A!” erupted from the Wahoos in the bleachers, while the Bruin faithful seemed to lose their collective voice along with their sense of belief.
It may have looked like the Bruins needed a miracle to overcome their two-goal deficit with less than 20 minutes on the clock. But the team didn’t quit.
Less than three minutes later, senior defender Caprice Dydasco lobbed a ball from the left wing that sailed above the reach of the Cavalier goalkeeper, hit the far post and ricocheted into the goal.
The goal reinvigorated the UCLA fans and the hope that the Bruins could still book a trip to Boca Raton, Fla., for the NCAA semifinals. But it was only half the miracle the Bruins needed – the Cavaliers held on to take the contest 2-1.
“It’s just kind of the cliche: ‘It wasn’t our night,’” said UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell. “It was a bad time not to play our best.”
As time crept further and further into the night, only the UCLA captains, senior midfielders Sarah Killion and Sam Mewis, remained at Drake Stadium, seated on a bench in the sidelines, their coaches consoling them.
“I’m kind of in shock. I’m upset, and I can’t really believe this is my last game here,” Mewis said. “UCLA has been the best thing ever. … I’m sad, and I’m gonna miss it a lot. It sucks.”
As the captains began to leave Drake Stadium for the last time, one figure in UCLA soccer gear was left on the field. It was Cromwell, receiving some support of her own from fellow UCLA coaches Cori Close and Jenny Johnson Jordan.
UCLA’s season came to an abrupt end, and now the program will have to plan for next year. But for the nine women who first embarked on their collective mission on Feb. 4, 2011, the UCLA chapter of their soccer careers has come to a close.
“When I think about it, I start welling up. That senior class is so special: There’ll be no class like them in the country – ever,” Cromwell said. “I can’t even think about it tonight. I just want to love on them and tell them how great they are, because they deserve it.”
Their final memories in a UCLA jersey might be plagued by the 90 minutes they were bested by Virginia, but the legacy they leave behind will remember how they led the way to UCLA’s first women’s soccer national championship.