Women’s soccer makes history in national championship run

It’s been slightly more than a year since Amanda Cromwell first arrived at UCLA, but the notes from the first time the women’s soccer coach addressed her team in May last year are still tucked away deep in her iPhone, as they are in her memory.

“At the very end of it I say something about, ‘Look around this room. This is going to be the first team that wins a national championship for UCLA,’” Cromwell said.

It was a bold prediction considering that many teams had come close, but none was able to seal the deal.

– Sam Mewis

The road to the 110th national championship for UCLA was a rocky one, but the hurdles the team had to clear en route to reaching that goal made this history-making win worth something truly special.

“To me, the harder the path, the sweeter the victory and the sweeter the championship, really,” Cromwell said.

As far as hurdles go, the Stanford soccer team was like a brick wall, one that for seven straight games had held strong against all UCLA attempts.

One of the team’s biggest losses came in late November last season; for the second time that season, a late Stanford resurgence had overcome an early one-goal UCLA lead to steal the game 2-1 for the Cardinal.

After an 88th-minute equalizer by Stanford to push the game into overtime in the Oct. 10 rematch this season, it looked like the stage was set for a second case of déjà vu.

Instead, all that history made the 2-1 golden-goal victory against Stanford onthe Cardinal’s home turf all the more emotional.

– Amanda Cromwell

“Ally Courtnall even told me her dad cried after we won that game,” Cromwell said. “It was such a relief to get over that hump. … The parents were just as involved and plugged-in and invested in the girls, they were in it wholeheartedly.”

But finally getting over the Stanford hump didn’t just become an event to celebrate, it became the catalyst that made the team realize that this was its year.

As the season progressed the team continued to rack up wins to the point where it was crowned Pac-12 champion, ranked No. 2 nationally and developed a reputation as a superior defensive team.

But the obstacles didn’t just end with Stanford. The accolades the team picked up throughout the season weren’t enough to convince the NCAA that the team was deserving of one of the four No. 1 seeds in the tournament, which were instead given to four Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

“It’s one of those things where everybody’s expecting to be so excited about it, and everyone kind of looked around like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” said junior midfielder and co-captain Sarah Killion.

It wasn’t just an issue of pride or getting what they felt they deserved. Entering the tournament as a No. 2 seed meant potentially facing several high-caliber opponents on the way to the Bruins’ ultimate prize.

– Sam Mewis

But while the perceived snub by the NCAA did increase the degree of difficulty of the team’s path to its first women’s soccer national championship, that challenge also increased the motivation and drive within the team to get to that point.

“I think it was the best thing that could’ve happened to us,” said junior midfielder and co-captain Sam Mewis. “Giving us such a challenge just made us want to overcome it a little more. … The way it worked out, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

One of the notable opponents in the Bruins’ way was the then-defending NCAA champion, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

It was also a team that, according to Killion, “put (UCLA) on (their) heels like no other team did” earlier in the season – the only team to defeat the Bruins during the regular season.

But the Bruins made sure they’d keep the loss count at just one.

– Sarah Killion

After a 102-minute battle, the deciding tally came from a sublimely crafted goal by sophomore forward Taylor Smith and Killion. With that, the plane ride to the College Cup in Cary, N.C., was official.

The result of that outing is clearly displayed in the J.D. Morgan Center’s Hall of Fame.

110 became a reality.

The team’s recess after winning the championship was short, however. Within a few weeks after the end of winter break, the women were already locked in on their next mission. Whether it’s going to early morning practices or supplementing that with a spring practice schedule that included games anywhere from Southern California to Japan – the Bruins are doing what they can to get ready.

“Last year was definitely special,” said junior defender Abby Dahlkemper. “Now it’s time to move on and work hard and get ready for the next season.”

The road to 112 has already begun.