It seems as though the UCLA women’s soccer team is lending some truth to an old sports cliche.
They are 13 games into a 20-plus game season and, appropriately enough, they seem to have hit “midseason form.”
When asked about her team hitting a rhythm, coach Jillian Ellis laughed at first.
“You don’t want to jinx it,” she said.
The Bruins have won their last four contests and scored nine goals in their last three games. This consistency comes after a bit of a seesaw start to the season in which they alternated between 0-0 ties and 3-0 dominating wins.
The Bruins reinvigorated the hot streak last weekend when they blanked a nine-win Washington squad, 4-0, at home in one of their most impressive performances of the season.
They will attempt to keep improving this weekend when they hit the road to face Arizona State (6-3-3, 0-1 Pac-10) tonight and Arizona (8-4, 1-0 Pac-10) on Sunday.
“I feel like we’ve hit a good stride,” junior forward Kristina Larsen said. “We just have to keep building off it because I know we can go so much further. Right now we’re just looking to keep striving and improving.”
One big reason for the team’s improvement is its ability to find the back of the net. The team has been working on its technique from within 18 yards and will need to bring its best shots if it hopes to get one past ASU goalkeeper Briana Silvestri. Silvestri has allowed only 10 goals in 12 games and already has amassed five shutouts.
“Mostly it’s just about finishing,” Larsen said. “We take a lot of shots, but we really just need to finish. With a good goalkeeper you’re looking to find her weaknesses. We have to keep going at the goal. Even if she makes 100 saves, we’ve got to keep going.”
The weekend will also present the Bruins with their first road test in three weeks and their first set of away games in the Pac-10. But Ellis said she thinks the change of scenery may be good for the team.
“I think, actually, at times it’s nice to go on the road,” Ellis said. “I think sometimes it’s relaxing for the players to be off campus and be in a hotel. I think we’re looking forward to this weekend.”
BRUINS STILL UNBEATEN: No. 4 UCLA, No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 5 Stanford are the only teams that remain undefeated in the top 25. Notre Dame is the only team that is both unbeaten and untied. The Fighting Irish currently hold a 14-0 record and got all 34 first-place votes in the most recent NCSAA/adidas national poll. The Bruins play Stanford on Oct. 31 at home.