In order to gain at least a share of the Pac-10 title, all the No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer team needs to do this weekend is record a tie against either Washington State or Washington. But knowing the mentality of coach Jill Ellis and her squad, that won’t be nearly enough to suffice.
The Bruins (14-1-2, 7-0-0 Pac-10) have put together an impressive string of conference victories and now need only a tie to secure a record fifth-straight conference title. But the team is hungry for much more and doesn’t want to fall into a trend that has become much too familiar in the past few seasons.
“Lately in the Pac-10 we’ve kind of struggled at the end of our season; knowing that we’re comfortable, we kind of settle a little bit,” senior forward Danesha Adams said.
If finishing the Pac-10 season undefeated isn’t motivation enough for the Bruins to record two wins on the road this weekend, UCLA can also use a pair of victories to fine-tune any imperfections that Ellis may notice.
While the Bruins have been able to stun the opposition, Ellis feels that she has yet to see the best from her team, as it has become a challenge to have all 11 players playing at the highest caliber during any given game.
“If every player on my team had their best game on the same day, it would be unbelievable,” Ellis said. “I might retire at that point.”
All jokes aside, today’s game against Washington State (10-4-3, 3-3-1 Pac-10) and Sunday afternoon’s matchup against Washington (5-11-1, 2-4-1 Pac-10) will give the Bruins a serious opportunity to focus on themselves and work out any kinks in their strategy before heading into the postseason.
Though winning the Pac-10 would ensure a playoff berth for UCLA, the team isn’t thinking about either, maintaining the same philosophy that they have held since the beginning of the season: taking one game at a time.
“I don’t think we’re thinking about winning the Pac-10 as much as we’re thinking about finishing strong and playing well,” junior defender Erin Hardy said.
“We’re pretty confident, but we’re trying not to talk about the (big) picture,” Adams added. “We’re going game-by-game, day-by-day, and seeing what happens.”
Ideally, Ellis would be able to guide her team to two more solid victories while tuning up for the postseason, and in doing so, the Bruins would attain a feat that has been accomplished only twice in the history of the conference: putting together a perfect record in Pac-10 play.
UCLA had a chance to do the same last season, also heading into their final pair of games with a flawless record, but dropped a 2-1 game to Oregon in double-overtime, highlighting Adams’ point about the team tending to drop off toward the end of the regular season and having to force themselves to regroup before heading into the NCAA Championships.
“(This weekend is) very important because we know, going into the playoffs, that the last two games carry some merit in the seeding,” Ellis said. “We can’t overlook anybody. Our focus is going to be on Washington State 100 percent since they’re our first game.”
DRAW TO BE RELEASED ON MONDAY: Upon the completion of all regular-season games across the country this weekend, the 64-team draw for the 2007 NCAA Championships will be compiled and revealed on ESPNews on Monday, Nov. 12, between 5 and 5:30 p.m.
If UCLA is able to secure a No. 1 seed, which at this point seems probable, the Bruins will likely host every one of their tournament games at Drake Stadium until the NCAA College Cup, which will take place in College Station, Texas, at Texas A&M on Dec. 7 and 9.