The No. 2 Bruins aced their first final, answering all of Adam Krikorian’s questions with two 21-3 victories this weekend.
First UCLA (17-1) demolished Long Beach State (6-7) on Thursday. The Bruins demonstrated a much more efficient set offense and were able to maintain their defense for the entire 36 minutes.
After the Thursday win, UCLA traveled to San Diego to face the Tritons of UCSD (8-9). It was the second consecutive weekend in which the Bruins had to play two games in two different cities. But this time the commute wasn’t as draining, and it showed as UCLA issued a flawless performance Friday night, securing another 21-3 victory.
The offensive output was a marked improvement from the previous weekend, when Krikorian was displeased with two inconsistent outings.
“We did a really good job overall. Everyone had really good awareness,” Krikorian said.
The Thursday victory was a clinic. The 49ers were without their two top scorers, Marina and Cecilia Canetti, who are playing on the Brazilian national team. The Bruins got off to their typical fast start, leading 9-1 after the opening eight minutes. This time they were able to remain consistent through the entire contest.
The set offense was remarkably improved from the previous weekend, when UCLA struggled with a slower paced game at Arizona State. Senior Kelly Rulon scored four goals, but her passing may have been even more important.
“I love passing the ball. It’s nice to let your teammates score and assist on their goals,” Rulon said.
The improved set offense was not responsible for every goal, however, as UCLA was once again dominant in their counterattack. Junior Gabrielle Domanic scored several transition goals, and finished with five total. The transition game, which may be the Bruins’ strongest area, is reliant on the Bruins’ speed and passing skills. The UCLA goalkeepers, senior Emily Feher and sophomore Brittany Fullen, each displayed beautiful long-range passing that enabled the Bruin attack to notch easy breakaway goals.
“We’re so quick that we’re going to need to get that ball out of the goal and make deep passes like that. Both Emily and Brittany are fabulous outlet passers, probably pretty similar to (basketball recruit) Kevin Love,” Krikorian said.
The final concern for Krikorian was his second unit. That group had struggled in the previous weekend, especially Sunday against UCSB. Sophomore Anne Belden came in with that second unit and scored three goals against Long Beach.
“We went out a little more aggressive in this game than we did against UCSB. We were more focused on attacking and our offense,” Belden said.
Krikorian was most pleased with the unit’s defensive effort.
“They did a good job; we slowed it down so they weren’t able to display all of their talents,” Krikorian said. “Most importantly they did a good job defensively. I was happy with the way they played.”