The equation is relatively simple for the No. 4 UCLA
women’s soccer team.
With two wins in their final two regular season matches this
weekend against Arizona and Arizona State, the Bruins (15-1-2,
5-0-2 Pac-10) would clinch the outright conference title and be
guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
For a team that has lost only once all season and is undefeated
in its last 13 matches, that would seem like a distinct
possibility. But last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Stanford taught
the Bruins something.
“We just weren’t ready for the passion that Stanford
came out with,” senior defender Jill Oakes said.
“I’ve never seen a team work as hard as they did and
want it as bad as they did.”
After an emotional 2-0 win over then-No. 9 California last
Friday, the Bruins lacked the mental focus and desire to match
Stanford on Sunday. That led to the team being outplayed and left
them fortunate to escape with a draw.
With only two regular season matches before the playoffs, where
one loss ends a team’s season, that kind of mental lapse
can’t happen to the Bruins again.
Coach Jill Ellis believes her team understands.
“I think we’ve done very well for a long time, and
what I said to the players is that one out of 20 games we’ll
get one game where maybe you’re not there, but you
can’t lose focus and you have to get energized for the
weekend.”
This weekend, then, is a chance for the Bruins to bring a
high-energy brand of soccer for 180 minutes.
“They know the possibilities and what’s at
stake,” Ellis said. “They’re pretty into
it.”
The stakes, of course, are high. As Pac-10 champions the last
two seasons, the Bruins always make a conference title one of their
primary goals.
Furthermore, two victories would give UCLA an impressive 17-1-2
record on the season, and as the No. 4 team in the three major
polls, complete an impressive resume for the NCAA Tournament
committee.
The tournament draw will be released on Monday, but that is
currently low on the list of UCLA’s priorities.
“This is one of the few games we have left, and if we want
to win the Pac-10, we have to win these two games,” senior
forward Iris Mora said. “There’s nothing else in our
minds right now.”
Arizona (9-5-3; 4-2-1), the Bruins’ first opponent, tied
for the conference title last season after registering the
program’s first ever victory over UCLA in Tucson. The Bruins
lead the all-time series 10-1 and boast a 40-4 goal advantage in
the 11 meetings.
Arizona State (9-6-3; 4-2-1) has an identical conference record
to the Wildcats, but the Sun Devils won the head-to-head battle 2-0
this season.
“They’re two programs that have always been
challenging,” Ellis said. “I have respect for both
teams.”
Ultimately, however, UCLA will likely dictate what happens this
weekend, and obviously the Bruins would like two performances like
the one against Cal rather than the match against Stanford.
“We want to come out and play good soccer, get a lot in
the net and keep them out of our net, just the way UCLA soccer
should be,” Oakes said.
“We want to let everybody know that Stanford was just a
one-time thing.”
Score more and allow less. It’s as simple as that.