Women’s soccer boosts its winning record against USC
Senior forward Lauren Cheney scored the game-winning goal in the 78th minute of UCLA’s 2-1 senior night victory over the Women of Troy on Friday in Drake Stadium.
By Min Kang
Nov. 1, 2009 11:14 p.m.
With a buzzing crowd of 3,210 behind her, Chelsea Cline spearheaded the offensive attack, a swarm of yellow-clad Trojans in hot pursuit.
Sprinting past the center stripe, the freshman midfielder dribbled left and right near the right sideline, shedding defender after defender until she crossed the ball to teammate and senior forward Lauren Cheney, who promptly drilled the shot into the near post in the 78th minute of play.
It was the 23rd meeting between the crosstown rivals, and as in years past, it did not fail to deliver in terms of entertainment.
“Oh my gosh, I loved having all the people here,” Cline said. “It was totally different from all the other home games, and it was really fun to play in.”
And on Cheney’s dramatic game-winning goal, No. 3 UCLA (15-2-1, 6-1 Pac-10) defeated No. 18 USC (12-6, 4-3 Pac-10) in the final regular season home game at Drake Stadium on Friday.
The Bruins have now won 11 of the last 12 matches between the two teams and hold a 19-3-1 record against their crosstown rivals.
“It was a great crowd with good energy, and I think it helped us (Friday),” coach Jill Ellis said. “Obviously, it’s a tremendous rivalry between the schools. Both teams had a lot of chances … and eventually, we got the result.”
Redshirt junior midfielder Jenna Belcher got the Bruins off to a head start in the 44th minute. After USC deflected her corner kick, Belcher ran back to the top of the box to intercept the ball and shot it past the Trojans’ goalkeeper Kristin Olsen.
The Women of Troy reset the match in the second half. Coming off the bench, USC’s Courtney Garcia fired a shot in the box into the far post at the 72:30 mark to even the scoreboard.
But the Bruins responded with another goal of their own, thanks to Cline’s spirited burst of speed and eventual assist.
“I definitely thought I was going to get pulled down and get the foul call,” Cline said. “But somehow, I pulled out of it and beat the one last defender, and Cheney made a perfect run.”
Cheney’s game-winning goal was the 26th of her career, placing her in a three-way tie with Danesha Adams and Traci Arkenberg for first in career game-winning goals.
But to Cheney, it was the play of the back line that anchored her team’s victory. In fact, the Women of Troy had seven corner kicks, only to have their set plays broken up by the UCLA defenders.
“Our defense played awesome,” the senior forward said. “They have really come through for us in the past few games, and we couldn’t have asked for a better performance from them tonight.”
For the Bruins, it was more than a win against USC that gave cause to celebrate. Friday’s match marked the last regular-season home game for the seniors.
“The seniors have been instrumental in continuing our program’s success and getting us to College Cups,” Ellis said. “It’s a nice thing to have it end this way for them, in the regular season at home against USC, so I’m happy for them.”
Cheney, defender Dea Cook and injured forward Kara Lang were honored during the pregame ceremonies.
“It has just been so much fun to have played with these girls all four years,” Cook said. “It’s weird how fast it went by, but it has been pretty awesome.”
The other two seniors on the team, forward Kristina Larsen and defender Lauren Wilmoth, did not participate in Friday’s match because of an ongoing suspension.
