UCLA women’s soccer hopes to end season with victory against USC
Junior forward Darian Jenkins said that the Bruins have been scouting the high-powered Trojan offense ahead of Friday’s game. USC has outshot UCLA by over 100. (Keila Mayberry/Daily Bruin staff)
By Korbin Placet
Nov. 6, 2015 1:40 a.m.
If there is anything that could salvage the women’s soccer season, it is a win over crosstown rival USC.
The unranked Bruin squad (8-9-1,4-5-1 Pac-12), currently tied for seventh in the Pac-12, already has the most losses in program history. One more would solidify its place below .500.
A win over its rival would help put the past couple months behind it and would be the nice send-off they want for its seniors.
“Well, we are honoring the seniors and starting all of them. Hopefully they come out and perform and get us on the right track,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “We are going for a win so make subs accordingly. It’s a crosstown rivalry so we want to win no matter what.”
The No. 14 Trojans are securely in second place in the conference. The program boasts a high-pressure offense that tries to get as many shots on goal as possible. Just this season, USC has outshot UCLA by over 100. A portion of practice this past week has been spent working on managing the key Trojan players.
“(We have been scouting) Morgan Andrews, Kayla Mills, Mandy (Freeman), you know, players that are good at attacking,” said junior forward Darian Jenkins.
Andrews leads the USC offense in goals and has also amassed a staggering 78 shots – 30 more than the next Trojan on the stat sheet.
The Bruins will need to control the possession of the ball in order to hold back the Trojan onslaught. So, for a majority of practice, the team worked on its own plays in an effort to set itself up with good positions.
“We have been working on set pieces,” said redshirt freshman defender Reema Bzeih. “So we worked on corner kicks, free kicks and (penalty kicks).”
Last year’s 2-0 win over USC was against a record-breaking crowd at the Coliseum with over 10,000 in attendance. UCLA is aiming to beat that record at Drake Stadium. Promotions have been made through Facebook, flyering and through the local FOX 11 TV station.
Even with a win Friday, however, earning an NCAA Tournament berth is very unlikely. UCLA would be ending the season with an even record, possibly still in the bottom half the Pac-12 and with its only quality win being against ‘SC.
“Our RPI is not high enough,” Cromwell said. “And even if we beat ‘SC, I don’t imagine our RPI jumping high enough to make the tournament.”
