Women’s soccer hopes to set attendance record during rivalry game at USC
Sophomore midfielder Chelsea Cline had the game-winning assist during UCLA’s 2-1 win over USC last season. The two teams face each other again today at the Coliseum.
Women’s Soccer
USC
Today, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Coliseum
Follow GameTracker on uclabruins.com
The Bruins head east on Interstate 10 to USC for the 23rd installment of the crosstown rivalry. The Bruins hold a 19-3-1 advantage over USC in the series.
By Mansi Sheth
Oct. 22, 2010 1:21 a.m.
There is nothing like a deep-rooted rivalry to jump-start a team.
The UCLA women’s soccer team hopes a high-energy game against USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum today will kick its season into high gear. Eager to recover from a disappointing 3-0 loss to Oregon State on Sunday, the No. 20 Bruins (9-5-1, 2-2 Pac-10) will need to play with confidence to defeat the No. 23 Women of Troy (8-4-3, 1-2-1).
“Everything revolves around our attitude when we step on the field,” said coach Jillian Ellis, who believes lapses in the team’s positive mentality led to crucial mistakes against Oregon State. “We have got to know that it is a 90-minute game and if we don’t score early or if the other team goes up a goal, we still have to have confidence and believe we can still affect the outcome of the game.”
The Women of Troy are returning home after a frustrating weekend road trip, losing 1-0 to Oregon State Oct. 15 off of a goal in the 83rd minute before playing to a 1-1 overtime tie against Oregon on Sunday. After having its six-game win streak come to an end on Oct. 1 against San Diego, USC has lost three of its last five matches. Yet, despite their current slump, the Women of Troy have shown glimpses of dangerous potential, notching a 5-4 overtime victory against No. 21 Cal on Oct. 10.
USC is looking to attract a record-breaking crowd of more than 8,204 for today’s showdown at the Coliseum. If the Women of Troy succeed, the game will break the NCAA regular-season attendance mark, set in 2006. The two teams drew the second-largest crowd in 2008 at the Coliseum, when 7,804 fans filled the stands.
Last year’s matchup also drew the largest Drake Stadium audience of the 2009 season.
“The energy from the crowd was amazing (last season),” said sophomore midfielder Chelsea Cline, who had the game-winning assist in UCLA’s 2-1 victory last year. “That was probably one of my most exciting games. After that, I was really pumped up, so I am super ready to do it again. We are really trying to raise the bar for this game and pick up our season a little bit.”
Troubled by an offense that has struggled to find the back of the net consistently throughout the season, the Bruins intend to score early and stay aggressive against their familiar rivals.
“We have to compose ourselves in the final third (of the field) and just relax. It’s all about staying calm,” freshman midfielder Jenna Richmond said regarding scoring on Friday. “A win is going to help us out a lot, especially because it is going to boost our confidence and help us with our motivation. We have got to go out hard, but I know we can do it.”
UCLA will also try to correct costly mistakes against Oregon State by relieving pressure off of the backline. In other words, the emphasis will be on redistributing defensive responsibilities to the entire team.
“Every single one of our players has to be accountable defensively,” Ellis said. “If a player doesn’t keep the ball in the other team’s half, it will have repercussions for our (defensive) backs. This has to be a constant mind-set for our team: that every player on the team defends.”
Though the Bruins have focused on strategy, the defining feature of tonight’s game against the Women of Troy will revolve not around strategy, but passion.
“What ‘SC will have is emotion, so we have to play with emotion,” Ellis said. “I used to love rivalry games as a player, and I love them as a coach. It’s all about will, sheer grit and attitude.”
