Women’s soccer poised for USD rematch in NCAAs
Senior defender Caprice Dydasco said that it’s “definitely an advantage” that the No. 1 Bruins drew San Diego, a team they beat 2-0 earlier in the season, for the first round of the NCAA tournament. (Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Aubrey Yeo
Nov. 14, 2014 7:50 a.m.
The games of soccer and basketball seem to be antitheses of each other at times, but for one game on Aug. 31, UCLA women’s soccer coach Amanda Cromwell was able to bridge the gap between basketball and soccer strategies to get UCLA a win.
The score remained zero goals apiece when play was suspended for half time, but after Cromwell’s basketball analogy, a newly inspired Bruins team was able to overcome the San Diego Torero’s man-marking defense and take the contest 2-0.
Friday night will be a rematch of the game between No. 1 UCLA (18-0-2) and USD (10-7-2), once again played at Drake Stadium, but the fans who plan to attend the game might have to hold off on any expectations of déjà vu.
“We don’t really call on that past game unless it’s just certain specifics with scouting or set plays,” Cromwell said. “We take it as a fresh game going forward, with a clean slate, really.”
But when it does come to devising a counter-strategy against the specifics and peculiarities of a team, the best source for an answer boils down to the experience accrued from facing that very lineup and roster slightly more than two months ago.
“It’s definitely an advantage that we’ve played them before,” said senior defender Caprice Dydasco. “We have our film; we know what they’re capable of and their tendencies.”
With the way the NCAA tournament works, the Bruins will be getting a full week to prepare for just one opponent as opposed to a schedule of two games per week, often the case during the regular season. And it will give them time to hammer down what they need to upgrade their season record against USD to 2-0.
“We’ll be preparing for it all week as well,” said senior midfielder Sarah Killion. “Just going into the game knowing we are confident and prepared is going to help us tremendously.”
If the Toreros approach the Bruins with the same man-marking defense on Friday, Cromwell said she believes the Bruins will be more than prepared to send some goals to the back of the USD net.
“They weren’t the last team to man mark us. The last team to man mark us, I believe, we beat 5-0,” Cromwell said. “We adjusted to that style of defense, we feel pretty confident if they approach it that way again, our attack will be raring to go.”
