Pepperdine snaps Bruins’ 73-game home win streak
Zakiya Bywaters had three shots on goal on Friday.
By Rebecca Lee
Oct. 4, 2010 1:38 a.m.
Sept. 5, 2005, was the last time that UCLA had lost at Drake Stadium. No member of the current women’s soccer team had suffered defeat at home ““ until Friday night.
Seventy-three unbeaten games later, No. 9 UCLA (7-3-1) watched that streak vanish as it lost to Pepperdine (7-3-2) in a 1-0 upset.
“We always have to move on from these kinds of things,” senior defender Lauren Barnes said. “They always make our team stronger.
Hopefully they’ll make us more determined because we don’t want to be in this situation again.”
The Bruins, who wore pink jerseys to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month, gave up a goal early when Pepperdine forward Michelle Manning received an assist from forward Michelle Spacciapolli at the arc and curved the ball past redshirt junior goalkeeper Chante’ Sandiford into the top right corner in the 23rd minute.
“We have to play two halves, got to put two halves together,” coach Jillian Ellis said. “The pressure in the first half, it didn’t appear that we were ready to play. For the second half, the effort was there and the chances were there. Now the next phase is putting those away and having composure around the goal mouth.”
The Bruins certainly came out flat during the first half. Every attack from the pink-clad Bruins were countered by the Waves, who were active in disrupting passes and mounting pressure.
“I think they’re pretty stacked in the middle of the field,” sophomore forward Zakiya Bywaters said. “They marked us man-to-man, so we weren’t really accomplishing those (through balls). We just need to penetrate out wide. I think that’s one of our weaknesses, getting the ball out wide, getting in line; that’s what we normally do.”
Although the Waves held a 6-4 shot advantage in the first half, the Bruins emerged from halftime more aggressively, outshooting Pepperdine 6-2 during the second period.
“First half, we had a few chances, but the momentum and intensity weren’t there,” Bywaters said. “The energy wasn’t there for us.
But second half, I think we were knocking on the door. We just couldn’t seem to put it in the net.”
Ellis said that the Bruins were able to play the ball wider in the second half, which led to better chances.
“Those are the things we talk about in pregame, and we’ve got to be able to translate what information we’re given to being able to solve problems on the field,” Ellis said. “It’s got some seniors on the team, but it’s a younger team. They need to learn to problem-solve and the seniors need to help them do that.”
Without junior forward and leading scorer Sydney Leroux, who missed her third game this season as she is with the U.S. Women’s National Team in Kennesaw, Ga., the Bruins tried to utilize their other scoring options.
Bywaters, who tallied a game-high three shots, sophomore midfielder Chelsea Cline and freshman forward Jenna Richmond launched a number of shots that were denied entry into the back of the net, thanks to the play of Wave goalkeeper Roxanne Barker.
Barker seized five saves in the shutout, while Sandiford notched three.
The match against Pepperdine marked the Bruins’ final non-conference game. As the match was the only game this weekend, the Bruins welcome the short break before Pac-10 play begins next week against Cal and top-ranked Stanford.
“Mentally, (the break) will give us time to recover from this loss,” Bywaters said. “Monday, we’re back at it again, just prepare for some hard training and just prepare for the Pac-10.”
