Women’s soccer looks to boost scoring ability in Jenkins’ absence
Senior forward Darian Jenkins, who along with freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming, leads the women’s soccer team in scoring. She suffered a season-ending injury last weekend in Oregon.(Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
By Kyle Cardoza
Oct. 6, 2016 1:29 a.m.
An offensive maestro, a four-year starting forward and a team leader.
That’s what No. 7 UCLA women’s soccer (9-2-0, 3-0-0 Pac-12) lost for the remainder of the year when senior Darian Jenkins suffered a fibula fracture Sunday against Oregon.
Now, as the Bruins enter the most onerous stage of their season, they must find a way to replace Jenkins’ goal-scoring ability and veteran presence.
“It was definitely hard on all of us. It was a pretty traumatic experience,” said senior midfielder Annie Alvarado. “But we need to honor her by playing and replacing her the best way that we can, and that’s everyone stepping up as individuals and collectively as a team.”
After struggling mightily the past two seasons, Jenkins was in the middle of career year, scoring seven goals – five of them game-winners – and gathering three assists in just 11 games.
The 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year was a nightmare to her opponents, creating opportunities for her teammates and showcasing her explosiveness near the goal. Her tactical mentality and speed created ample space for herself and teammates to easily maneuver through defenses.
But what the team may miss most is Jenkins’ reliability. She started in each game this year and ate up a significant portion of the minutes on the frontline.
“It’s an opportunity for other people to step up,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “It’s also going to be by committee. We have to make sure other players are stepping into their roles as playmakers and goal scorers.”
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The Bruins will look to a mix of experienced forwards and younger players to replicate Jenkins’ production on the pitch. During UCLA’s current six-game win streak, attackers such as redshirt senior Courtney Proctor, sophomore Julia Hernandez and freshman Sunny Dunphy have each shared minutes with Jenkins and senior Amber Munerlyn up front.
Though Proctor is the only forward on the team with fewer than five games played, Cromwell said she will get the start against unranked Cal Thursday night. Proctor hasn’t started a game since last November.
Nevertheless, the sixth-year player is ready to play her role in UCLA’s surging offense.
“I mean, it’s taken me a little while to get my feet back,” Proctor said. “But (I’m) just doing my best to go out there, remain focused and play how the team needs me to play.”
Contributing reports from Winston Bribach, Daily Bruin reporter.
