The Bruins are headed to the NCAA quarterfinals.
No. 2-seeded UCLA women’s soccer defeated North Carolina State 5-0 on Sunday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium to secure its spot in the NCAA quarterfinal match. The Bruins extended their win streak to 12 with this win − the largest in the nation.
“This is fun to watch,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “This team has been clicking at the right time. We aren’t perfect by any means, but we’re doing some things really well. Getting the shutouts the way we attack has been really encouraging.”
Junior midfielder Jessie Fleming opened the scoring for the Bruins just five minutes into the first half with a one-touch shot set up by sophomore midfielder Olivia Athens and sophomore forward Ashley Sanchez.
“(Sanchez) sets people up all the time,” Fleming said. “I think that when she has the ball it is our job to look good in the box. She’s hungry. She wants to get on the ball. She wants to be the player making things happen for her team. She’s been the difference maker this season.”
Sanchez has either scored or assisted in each of the past 12 matches, tying the UCLA record for most consecutive games with a point, and setting the UCLA record for most assists in a single NCAA tournament.
“(Sanchez) has been kind of hard for other teams to manage,” Cromwell said. “Whenever she receives the ball, in the good pockets, she makes things happen. She’s kind of itching to score a goal right now and she’s been so creative in setting everyone else up.”
Fleming and Sanchez combined once again in the first half to double the Bruins’ lead, this time off of a corner kick by Sanchez. The Bruins scored once more before half time, off another corner kick by Sanchez, which led to a scramble in the box that allowed sophomore defender Karina Rodriguez to score her third goal of the year, assisted by sophomore midfielder/defender Delanie Sheehan.
The Bruins totaled 26 shots in the match, 14 of them on target. The Wolfpack recorded just five, only two of them on goal. NC State forced two saves from junior goalkeeper Teagan Micah, while UCLA forced nine from Wolfpack goalkeeper Sydney Wootten.
“We knew (the Wolfpack’s defense) was going to be good coming into this game.” Fleming said. “I think we have a confident attack right now, so I don’t think it really mattered how good they were, because we were playing really confidently. We owe a major kudos to our back line. They’re a big part of us scoring, too.”
A shot by redshirt junior midfielder Chloe Castaneda to the lower right corner in the 83rd minute and a rebound by senior forward Hailie Mace off of a UCLA corner kick in the 85th minute secured the Bruins’ victory. UCLA has recorded a 5-0 shutout in each of its tournament games this postseason.
The Bruins will spend their Thanksgiving in Cary, North Carolina preparing to take on the No. 1-seeded University of North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday.
“To win three games like this in the beginning of the tournament is huge for us,” Sanchez said. “I think we are going to build off of this energy and go to North Carolina with a lot of confidence.”