It was supposed to be a road trip that solidified the No. 4 UCLA
women’s soccer team’s position atop the Pac-10, and
after an impressive 2-0 victory over No. 9 Cal on Friday, it looked
like it was going to be exactly that.
But an uninspired 0-0 draw at unranked Stanford on Sunday left a
bad taste in the Bruins’ mouths, not to mention a frustrated
coach.
“We got dominated,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said.
“I was just very disappointed with today’s
performance.”
Ellis said several of her players were simply not mentally
prepared to face Stanford, and that lack of readiness translated
onto the field as the Bruins (15-1-2, 5-0-2 Pac-10) were fortunate
to escape the Cardinal with a draw.
UCLA was outshot 13-6, the first time all season the team had
fewer shots than its opponent, and the Bruins were outplayed for
the first time since their 1-0 loss to No. 1 Penn State.
“The level of interest was a problem,” Ellis said.
“Eleven players from their team were highly interested in the
game. Seven or eight players on our team were interested.
“I just don’t think that we were mentally ready for
the game.”
That’s something the Bruin coach finds particularly
problematic, as the team has only two matches remaining before the
NCAA Tournament begins. UCLA hosts Arizona and Arizona State this
coming weekend.
Sophomore goalkeeper Val Henderson kept her team in
Sunday’s match, making three saves, one which Ellis said was
truly incredible.
“I was disappointed that we couldn’t pull it
out,” Henderson said. “Stanford just came with the
attitude that they really wanted to win.”
UCLA had that attitude in its victory over Cal on Friday, as the
two top-10 teams entered the match with identical 4-0-1 conference
records.
The Bruins were clearly the aggressors in Friday’s match,
forcing Cal into an own goal in the 56th minute before sophomore
forward Danesha Adams put the game away with a powerful strike in
the 84th minute.
With their 5-0-2 conference record, the Bruins still sit atop
the Pac-10 and control their own destiny. But a draw is clearly not
what the team wanted Sunday.
“I’m disappointed, and I think the team is as
well,” Ellis said. “You might expect it early in the
season, but now they know there are two games on the weekend and
you have to come to play in both of them.”
Ellis said her four defenders ““ Mary Castelanelli, Jill
Oakes, Erin Hardy and Bristyn Davis, along with goalkeeper
Henderson ““ all played exceptionally on Sunday. The offense,
however, sputtered.
It was the second time in two weekends that the Bruins have
played to a scoreless draw on Sunday. The difference, of course,
was that UCLA absolutely dominated Washington State the previous
Sunday, suffering an unjust result after hitting the woodwork on
three separate occasions.
This Sunday, it was Stanford that controlled the play, leaving
the Bruins in an unfamiliar position. They didn’t lose, but
they were fortunate to draw, and that’s a result that no one
wanted.
“It’s good that this game happened now,”
Henderson said. “We realize that we can’t just pick and
choose when to play. We have to bring it every single
game.”