Women’s soccer to support breast cancer awareness in Arizona match

The women’s soccer team will not be sporting its usual uniform Friday night. This week, the Bruins will have more on their minds than just a win.

In support of breast cancer awareness and research, UCLA (5-6, 1-2 Pac-12) will play its match against No. 15 Arizona (8-2-1, 2-1-0) in pink jerseys and auction off the jerseys after the game for charity.

In a video that will be displayed on the Drake Stadium scoreboard, each player is shown holding a sign that indicates whom or what they are fighting for. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Claire Winter, for example, will be playing in honor of her grandmother.

“I was actually named after my grandma Claire who died of breast cancer when I was 2,” Winter said. “So it’s a big game for me and I’m super excited to play for her.”

Winter is not the only player for whom the cause hits close to home.

“We’ve all been touched by cancer … obviously Madison Tye’s mom passing away (from lymphoma) earlier this year is still big in our hearts and minds,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “I had a friend pass away last year from cancer during the season so it’s just nice to remember and honor them and hopefully the way we play will show that we’re inspired.”

The Bruins must hope that inspiration carries onto the field, where the team has lost its past two games. Senior forward Taylor Smith said she expects the team to be mentally tougher.

“I think we’ve really hit a turning point,” Smith said. “(Cromwell) has adopted this ‘us against the world’ mentality. Before, there was focus on just individuals but now we’re coming together and really fighting.”

Cromwell said the team has felt the effect of losing many graduated players, with its rough start spiraling into a lack of confidence.

“Whether it’s bad refereeing, which happened to us this year, whether it’s unfortunate calls, or just bad luck in some games – some of that stuff you can’t control,” Cromwell said. “It’s out of your hands. We’re trying to build confidence. It’s been a challenging year as far as coaching in that respect because they really have to be self-motivated and it can’t be about the results.”

In order to win, Cromwell said the Bruins must play what she calls “ugly soccer,” upping their physicality to win 50-50 balls and contend with the Wildcats’ long throw-ins. The team is also working on being more compact defensively in order to prevent transition goals.

“We just have to grind, grind it out, find a way to win games,” Cromwell said. “Friday, there may not be a whole lot of pretty soccer going on but we can still find a way to win.”