Forward scores 4 goals in opener
Junior forward Syndney Leroux scored four goals in UCLA’s season opener.
By Min Kang
Aug. 26, 2010 10:37 p.m.
Evidently, it didn’t take Sydney Leroux too long to round into season form.
In the 21st minute of the UCLA women’s soccer team’s season opener against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the junior forward netted the first of her four goals on Sunday, spearheading the Bruins’ 7-0 win over the Mustangs at the North Athletic Field.
Despite a blistering summer that revolved around her involvement with the Under-20 U.S. Women’s National Team, Leroux didn’t miss a beat, scoring three times in the first half before leaving her final imprint with another goal in the waning minutes of the game.
“The players around (Leroux) and the complement of her and them create a lot of the (scoring) chances,” coach Jillian Ellis said. “She looked very good; she was sharp, focused and energized.”
At the outset, Leroux’s teammates picked up the scoring slack. Sophomore midfielder Zakiya Bywaters got the Bruins on the scoreboard in the eighth minute, scoring on a put-back of a shot that deflected off the right side of the post.
Two minutes later, senior midfielder and Daily Bruin photographer Dana Wall intercepted the ball from a Mustang and dribbled up the field before firing a shot into the net from 10 yards out.
For Ellis, it was a pleasing sight to behold, given that having other scoring options besides Leroux will be instrumental for the team’s success this year.
“Dana has had just an outstanding preseason and obviously did well in the game, so I’m extremely happy for her,” Ellis said. “(Zakiya) is growing by leaps and bounds every time she steps onto the field. She has had a long summer with the U-20s, so for her to come in here and play well, I was ecstatic.”
But it didn’t take long for Leroux to make her presence felt. She scored her first goal in the 21st minute going one-on-one against Mustang goalkeeper Brooke Gauvin, struck again in the 39th minute on an assist from senior forward Liz Zadro, and notched another one in the 41st minute.
Senior defender Lauren Barnes then scored the Bruins’ sixth goal just before halftime, finding the net all the way from her free-kick position in the 44th minute.
Not to be outdone, the UCLA defense also made an impression, limiting Cal Poly SLO to just two shots in the match.
“The defense did great,” Barnes said. “At practice, we work on individual (aspects) on offense and defense, so we’ve been working our butts off until today, and it paid off.”
UCLA concluded its scoring outburst on Leroux’s final goal, a close-range shot she nudged past Mustang goalkeeper Johanna Pfeiffer in the 85th minute.
It may have been a dominant start to the season, but the Bruins also debuted a physical nature of play, something Leroux said works to her team’s advantage.
“I love physical games, and I wouldn’t want anything else,” the game’s leading scorer said. “I wouldn’t want a team to come out and play relaxed against us, because we’ve established ourselves, and teams want to beat us.”
