Bruins close out season with loss to Moorpark

Moorpark d. UCLA 4-0

By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA women’s field hockey team didn’t have a
happy explanation for what happened in its 4-0 loss to the
Hollywood Athletic Club on Saturday afternoon at Moorpark
College.

The game ended the Bruins’ season and left the team
feeling disappointed in how it played its last game. They felt that
things could have been different on Saturday.

“We played well, but we were missing some players.
Eventually that caught up to us and really hurt us,” said
Emily Kane, a freshman midfielder.

The Bruins only played with eight position players, as did their
opponents, instead of the regular 10.

UCLA started out on the defensive for most of the first half but
the defense, led by goalie Kate Hanson, was able to withstand the
pressure. The Bruins surrendered one goal, but were confident going
into halftime only down by a single goal.

At halftime, sophomore forward and team captain Melissa Lorang
gathered in the team assuring everyone of their playing abilities
and the need to continue doing so if they were going to make a
comeback.

The team must have listened to the halftime speech because the
Bruins went on the offensive in the second half. They held the ball
in the offensive zone and put pressure on the Hollywood defense for
the first few minutes of the half, but were unable to capitalize
with any clean looks on goal.

But as the second half wore on, the Bruins wore down. Combining
superior fitness with quick and accurate long passes, Hollywood
kept UCLA on the defensive for the rest of the game.

“They were just quicker and faster and their passing was
just a lot sharper,” said defender Taylor Matthews. “We
don’t practice too much during the week. We just come out on
a Saturday and try to have some fun and I guess today it
showed.”

The Bruins conceded three more goals in the last few minutes,
mostly due to sloppy defense and a lack of accurate passing. All
three goals came on odd-man rushes that resulted in point-blank
shots on the helpless Hanson.

Despite the disappointment in the loss and the fact that this
was the last game of the spring schedule, there wasn’t a lack
of enthusiasm after the match. The team is still young and
inexperienced and can only improve.

Lorang summed up the attitude of the afternoon: “When we
are at full strength we can compete with any team in this league.
It was disappointing that we were playing without some key players
and with only eight field players. We know we are better than this,
especially those last few minutes.”

For more information on the women’s field hockey club
team, contact Melissa Lorang at [email protected].