The Bruins are on their way back to the Final Four.
The UCLA women’s soccer team (21-3) owned defending
national champion
Portland (17-4-3) by a score of 2-1 Friday night before a crowd
of 1,457
at Drake Stadium to reach their fourth consecutive appearance in
the
College Cup.
Last season ended in heartbreak for the Bruins as they fell in
the
finals to the same Portland team 4-0.
UCLA, however, would not let Friday night be a repeat of last
year’s
championship game. Instead, the Bruins dominated long stretches
of the
game en route to victory.
“Portland is such an amazing team,” freshman forward
Lauren Cheney said.
“I was most proud of our composure and being able to play
with such a
talented team and prove that we have that class and talent
also.”
Early on, however, it appeared Portland might run away with the
game as they did in the finals a year ago.
Junior Rachael Rapinoe buried a free kick for the Pilots just
five
minutes into the match to give Portland a 1-0 lead.
Instead of breaking the Bruins, the goal served to energize UCLA
as they answered back less than three minutes later when sophomore
McCall
Zerboni knocked in a rebound off a Danesha Adams corner
kick.
The Bruins continued to dominate the first half, out-shooting
the Pilots seven to one, but could not tack on another goal before
the break.
UCLA continued to be the aggressor in the second half with the
Bruin
backline and goalkeeper Valerie Henderson stymieing the Pilot
offense.
Still, the game hung in the balance until the 70th minute
when
sophomore midfielder Christina DiMartino was taken down by Pilot
keeper Cori Alexander, drawing a penalty.
With Adams, the Bruins’ usual kick-taker out of the game,
Cheney stepped up and beat Alexander to give UCLA a 2-1 lead they
would not relinquish.
UCLA will now face off against the winner of North Carolina and
Texas
A&M on Friday in a national semifinal in Cary, N.C. Florida
State
and Notre Dame, both winners Friday night, will face off in the
other
semifinal.