Women’s soccer eager to win UCLA’s 110th championship

Once just an ordinary number, 110 has taken a whole new meaning for UCLA’s women’s soccer team. As the team’s home opener against Northeastern on Aug. 23 draws near, the members of the team have made it clear that they’ve all bought in to the same goal: winning UCLA’s 110th NCAA championship.

However, the team won’t be able to realize this goal without adjusting to a few changes first.

The Bruins will enter the season with a new coaching staff led by coach Amanda Cromwell, who took over the post after coach B.J. Snow’s departure last December.

And although Cromwell may be new to the team, she recognizes its potential, and from her expectations of the girls, Cromwell has made it clear that championship 110 is also within her sights.

“We have a talented group, so we want to win games and make a run as deep as we can in the NCAAs and College Cup. And I think between the Pac-12 and the College Cup our goal is to win championships,” Cromwell said.

The Bruins will also need to adjust to the departure of graduating seniors, Chelsea Cline, Lucretia Lee and reigning Pac-12 top scorer, Zakiya Bywaters.

“We’re just going to need everyone to pull together, and hopefully we can spread around the goal scoring,” rising junior midfielder Samantha Mewis said.

“And I think it will be important for people to step up as leaders too, because whenever you lose important seniors, it’s vital that an underclassman steps up and helps lead the team.”

Though official team practices are slated to begin Aug. 7, some members of the team have already begun to put their noses to the grindstone.

Rising junior defender Abby Dahlkemper, for example, adds the routine of waking up at dawn to prepare for 7 a.m. workouts with the team at Drake Stadium to an already busy schedule of summer classes.

Though these workouts are voluntary, Dahlkemper is just one of many members on the UCLA women’s soccer team sacrificing time and sleep out of a busy summer schedule. According to her, the record turnouts to team workouts makes it clear that the team is taking the goal of winning UCLA’s first women’s soccer title very seriously.

“Everyone wants to be there and is committed to being there for everyone else … We really have our minds and hearts set on 110, the next national championship. (The workouts are) just kind of the first step to doing that,” Dahlkemper said.

Dahlkemper and four other Bruins – rising junior midfielders Mewis, Caprice Dydasco, Sarah Killion and rising junior forward Rosie White – have also had some of their summer playing in the 2013 USL W-League Championship-winning Pali Blues.

As the longest standing elite women’s league in North America, the W-League features the talents of professional and amateur soccer players alike. The stiff competition has helped harden these five Bruins in anticipation of the upcoming NCAA season.

“We did it for not only the competitive environment but also because it’s a good warm up for the season, to get games in, and kind of just to get game fit,” Dahlkemper said. “Going into the season on a winning note is so positive for the five of us, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going.”

While the Bruins have placed a lot of emphasis on honing their physical skills over the summer, they have not neglected the mental side of the game. They know that a major part of winning a championship lies in overcoming their mistakes from last season. Mewis cited the circumstances behind two losses against Stanford last season as the inspiration behind the team’s maturation.

Ultimately, the Bruins have one tenable goal that not only binds the team together, but will also guide them throughout the season. According to Dahlkemper, that mantra will be the focus of the rising juniors as they approach their new role as leaders.

“Now that we’re going to be upperclassmen our roles are definitely going to change,” Dahlkemper said.

“Our roles are just going to be just trying to be there for everyone, leadership and creating an encouraging, positive environment for the team, so we can all just try and stick to our goal and win 110.”