Defenders visit the front lines

Trailing by two goals early in Friday’s match with rival
USC, the No. 4 Bruins looked to an unlikely source for its offense:
its defense. UCLA’s first two goals, which came only 27
seconds apart during the 53rd minute, came courtesy of senior
defender Jill Oakes and junior midfielder/defender Stacy Lindstrom.
Senior Iris Mora’s game-winning goal in the second overtime
period was set up by another Bruin defender, this time junior
Bristyn Davis. Oakes, who played midfield all of last season, and
Davis, who led the Bruins in scoring as a forward last year, have
both moved to defender this year. Oakes’ goal was her first
on the season. “I definitely wanted one,” said Oakes
when asked about the opportunity to score a goal. “I wanted
to score, and oh my goodness, I did.” Although she takes
pride in her ability to stop goals now rather than score them,
Oakes isn’t above lobbying her coach for more offensive
opportunities. “Every chance I got to dribble, I was trying
to go forward,” said Oakes. “I just wanted to be part
of the attack. I told (Coach Jill Ellis) at halftime that I wished
I were playing midfield.”

MORA’S HEROICS: Senior forward Iris Mora could have been
frustrated with the Bruins’ inability to gain the lead during
the second half against USC. After tying the game early in the
second half, the Bruins failed to score another goal during the
rest of regulation and 17 minutes of overtime despite out-shooting
the Trojans 28-4 and taking five more corner kicks over the course
of that span. But the senior forward knew the Bruins’ time
would come as she netted the game-winner in overtime during the
107th minute of play. “I was just waiting for one,”
said Mora, who also assisted on Jill Oakes’ goal during the
second half. “It was just an awesome ball from Bristyn. One
touch, two touch, and score.” Mora’s ability to finish
has also impressed her coach, Jill Ellis, who stressed the value of
patience while pressing for the final goal. “(I told Mora) to
sit underneath, sit underneath, you’re going to get
it,” said Ellis. “She’s so cool, she’s
class. I’ve seen her take those balls and finish them, and
this was pretty impressive.” Mora, however, deflected praise
to her teammates. “We knew that we could (come back and
win),” said Mora. “We just came out and played UCLA
soccer. When you work hard, everything comes together.”

OVERTIME: Mora is tied for second on the team with freshman Kara
Lang with five goals. Sophomore Danesha Adams leads the team with
10 goals on the season. Adams’ streak of five straight games
with a goal scored was snapped. The foundation for a continued
tight rivalry between the crosstown teams was readily apparent as
USC played seven members of its No. 1 ranked freshmen recruiting
class. UCLA, whose class ranked No. 2 behind the Trojans, saw four
freshmen receive significant playing time. USC made the most of its
scoring chances by scoring on both of their only shots on goal.
Both Trojan goals were scored by freshmen. UCLA ran its winning
streak to seven. The Bruins improved to 2-1 in overtime games this
season. The game with USC last season had the same result as this
year with the Bruins coming out on top 3-2 in double overtime.