UCLA women’s soccer scores yet another victory, extending unbeaten streak to 17 games

This post was updated Sept. 2 at 4:35 p.m.

The Bruins recorded their third shutout of the season over the weekend.

No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer (4-0) kept a clean sheet in its 2-0 defeat of Florida (2-2) on Sunday night. Although it was 0-0 at the half, junior midfielder Marley Canales and junior defender Delanie Sheehan scored two second-half goals to turn a scoreless match into a Bruin victory.

“We knew they were a tactical team and I thought we matched it really well,” Canales said. “Coming into a Sunday game is hard for both teams, so we wanted to play our style, continue to play how we do, and not let how they play affect us.”

Every Gator attempt at the goal throughout the competition was thwarted by senior goalkeeper Teagan Micah and the Bruin defensive line. All three of Florida’s shots on goal were stopped by Micah, who recorded her 29th career shutout Sunday.

The match also marked the senior’s 50th career win.

“They are good at keeping possession and they just wanted to overload the wing space,” Micah said. “Toward the end of the game, when they were down 2-nil, they started coming at us pretty direct. But, I feel like our defense handled it really well.”

Canales’ goal came less than three minutes into the second half. Senior midfielder Jessie Fleming was fouled inside the box by Florida goalkeeper Susi Espinoza, which earned Espinoza the match’s first yellow card, and earned the Bruins a penalty kick.

Canales converted the penalty shot into her first goal of the season.

In the 59th minute, freshman forward Kali Trevithick’s shot from the outer right corner of the box was blocked by the Florida goalkeeper, but Sheehan was there for the rebound. She recorded her first net of the year with a rocket over Espinoza’s head.

“Teams like this are very dangerous, they’re organized, and we needed to finish more chances,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “Thankfully, we got two – but I thought we could have had three or four. Against a team like Florida, I’m happy with a two-nil win any day.”

What Florida lacked in shots, it made up for in fouls. The Gators posted six shots and 11 fouls, while the Bruins recorded 13 shots and five fouls.

Four yellow cards were assigned throughout the match, one of which Fleming earned after she kicked the ball away prior to a Florida free kick.

“She was frustrated,” Cromwell said. “She may have kicked the ball away, but she did phenomenally today. She’ll get one (yellow card) every four years, so I’ll give it to her.”

Junior forward Ashley Sanchez recorded two shots on target and played the entire 90 minutes of the match. However, she was unable to record a goal or an assist – ending her 16-game point-scoring streak that began in September of last season.

UCLA will be riding a 17-game unbeaten streak and a four-game win streak when it heads north to take on No. 19 Santa Clara on Thursday.