Women’s soccer works to build depth with absence of leading forwards

An ineffective attack strategy has left the UCLA women’s soccer team with four losses in the early portion of the 2015 season. The Bruins now encounter the start of a grueling schedule of Pac-12 play, and will face some of the toughest defenses in the league.

UCLA (4-4-0) will host Oregon (3-5-0) on Friday in its first conference game of the season without two of its key starters.

Senior forward Taylor Smith will be sitting out her second game in a row after being red-carded during the UNC matchup. Smith is one of UCLA’s top goal-scorers and as one of only two returning starters, she is a leader on the field and remains pivotal to the team’s success.

Although the Bruins were able to defeat then-No. 19 Pepperdine without their leader in points, the team is now down one more player. Coach Amanda Cromwell said it is unlikely junior forward Darian Jenkins will be able participate in Friday’s contest after she separated her shoulder in last week’s game. Jenkins was responsible for the Bruins’ double-overtime win against San Diego and has been a consistent starter throughout the season.

“It’ll have an impact but it’s not like basketball where there’s five players, there’s 11,” Cromwell said. “You have players that can fill in, so hopefully someone will step up and fill those shoes.”

UCLA will have to rely on the depth of its roster in order to pull off a win this week, which junior midfielder Annie Alvarado said should not be an issue.

“We have more than 11 starters,” Alvarado said. “It’s making it hard for (Cromwell) to decide who’s going to be in that starting 11. People are stepping up and the level of our game is rising even when our subs step in.”

Still, Oregon’s defense, with goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir, has not allowed a goal in the Ducks’ last two contests. Meanwhile, Cromwell has said repeatedly that the Bruins are struggling in the attacking third. Without two of their leading forwards on the field, it will be an uphill battle to find the net on Friday.

UCLA’s primary focus in training this week has been on the attack. Cromwell said the Bruins should be using both their speed on the flanks and their combination play in order to get closer to the goal and prove that they can be dangerous in the final third.

“It’s hard when a team has a good defense and they get numbers behind the ball,” Cromwell said. “We just have to be patient and not settle for the long-range shots like we have been.”

Though Oregon has been solid on defense, the Ducks have not proven entirely effective in goal-scoring, managing six goals thus far to UCLA’s nine. Oregon has not yet achieved a win on the road this season and they’ll be fighting for its first here in Westwood.

“Given the chance, I think we can finish them,” said senior forward Kodi Lavrusky.