Dissatisfied with her team’s inconsistent effort the past
few weeks, UCLA women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis reiterated
her concern about the Bruins’ uninspired play on Monday.
This time it was Sunday afternoon’s 1-0 loss to No. 18
Arizona that had Ellis questioning her team’s character and
its desire once again.
“Our mental preparation and our attitude about our
opponent is not where it needs to be,” Ellis said. “At
Arizona, it wasn’t until the last five or six minutes that we
flipped the switch, woke up, and started playing with
desire.”
That is troubling to Ellis, considering how critical she has
been of UCLA’s mental preparation recently. Ellis chastised
the Bruins (12-6, 5-3 Pac-10) last month after losses to unranked
Washington State and Cal.
But this latest loss against Arizona was the toughest to stomach
for Ellis because UCLA’s conference title hopes depended on
the outcome of the match. A victory would have solidified the
Bruins’ grip on first place in the conference standings with
just one week left to play. Instead, the loss dropped them all the
way back to fourth place.
“It was all on the line,” senior defender Kendal
Billingsley said. “We should have been able to put two
quality games together. We weren’t focused like we needed to
be.”
The biggest concern for UCLA seems to be its inability to put
together quality performances in back-to-back games. The Bruins
have split their last three weekends in conference play. That trend
cannot continue if UCLA hopes to survive into the second weekend of
postseason play.
“It’s a matter of these players delivering,”
Ellis said. “Hopefully the Arizona loss will be a shock to
their system.”
The latest setback marked the first time since the 1996 season
that the Bruins have lost six or more games in one season.
The problem for UCLA, however, clearly is not a lack of talent.
The Bruins have defeated six of the eight ranked opponents they
have played this season, including perennial powers Stanford and
Santa Clara.
But while those victories should be enough to merit a top-16
seed and a pair of home games in the NCAA Tournament, they
won’t mean much if UCLA can’t put forth a more
consistent effort.
“It’s been an up-and-down year,” Billingsley
said. “Hopefully with the tournament coming up we can put it
all together.”
The Bruins have one more regular season match left, a visit to
crosstown rival USC. Both Ellis and Billingsley said finding
motivation should not be a problem for that match.
“We’ll be ready for USC,” Billingsley
said.