UCLA women’s soccer takes Pac-12 lead after Utah, Colorado games
By Susana Vazquez
Oct. 28, 2013 1:59 a.m.
The UCLA women’s soccer team wrapped up its final road games for
the regular season this weekend against Utah and Colorado.
Wins against these two teams would have given the Bruins a better opportunity at playing at home during post-season action.
Although the Bruins didn’t get two victories, they stretched their lead in the Pac-12 standings while extending their streak to 12 matches without losing after the team tied 1-1 against Utah on Friday and beat Colorado 1-0 on Sunday.
The match against the Buffaloes had Pac-12 standings implications, as Colorado sat in second place with 13 points, just four points behind the Bruins who had 17. If Colorado had beaten UCLA, the Buffaloes would have cut the Bruin’s lead to just one point.
“Separating ourselves further from (Colorado in the Pac-12) was really important in getting the win,” said UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell. “Utah and Colorado are both very good teams; they’re very organized (and) well coached. So these are tough games. I think we learned a little bit how to grind out (against Colorado).”
The match on Sunday showcased why the Bruins are the No. 1 defense in the country after the team shut out the Buffaloes’ offense. Early in the match, Colorado had an opportunity to score, but junior goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland made the save.
The first half ended scoreless, but UCLA opened the scoring 11 minutes into the second half with a goal by sophomore forward Kodi Lavrusky, who buried the ball into the right corner.
Lavrusky said that her goal was not a personal contribution, but the result of a group effort.
“Overall the effort is from the whole team. Coming into the game we knew that we had to bring an impact … and overall we had a good attacking chance and (Sam Mewis) played a good ball through the middle, had the spot and I just took a chance at it,” Lavrusky said.
The match on Friday against the Utes ended in a draw for the Bruins, although they outshot Utah 23-5.
Though Utah took the lead at the 17-minute mark, sophomore forward Taylor Smith scored the equalizer only five minutes later.
Including the one Utah scored, UCLA has only let six goals in this season. The Bruins have not allowed any team to score more than one goal in their matches.
Lavrusky said that the team feels confident with the way the defense has been playing all year long.
“We have one of the best defenses in the country, so we are pretty confident … and right now we are No. 1 (in the Pac-12). We are doing pretty well, so we just have to keep being confident and pull out (the next) few wins at home,” Lavrusky said.
The Bruins will now return home to play the last games of regular season slate. Smith said that she is happy to close the season at home to have the home crowd’s support.
“I think we are really excited to have our last games (at home) especially as we get closer to the end. So it’s going to be great to have all our fans supporting us … and being in our home field and just going out and represent,” Smith said.
