Women’s soccer tumbles through rankings, tries to cope without key players

The Bruins have not had the start that the preseason polls projected.

No. 15 UCLA women’s soccer (6-3-1, 1-2 Pac-12) lost six seniors from last year’s NCAA-finalist team, four of whom were regular starters. The Bruins were expected to build on their success with the majority of the squad returning, earning the No. 2 spot in the preseason rankings.

UCLA earned its first conference win in three games Sunday – and it’s likely that the Bruins will need to win all of their last eight conference matches to contend for the Pac-12 title.

“We want to win out – that’s the plan,” said senior forward/midfielder Anika Rodriguez. “That’s what we want to do.”

The Bruins’ three losses this season are equal to their total losses over last year’s 25-game season. This may be a testament to the difficult slate, which has already included seven away games and five matches against ranked opponents.

But it may also be a byproduct of the important personnel UCLA has been missing early on.

Junior goalkeeper Teagan Micah – who had previously played in every match since becoming a Bruin – made her first appearance in two weeks in the game against Cal after being diagnosed with a concussion.

Sophomore midfielder Marley Canales strained her MCL nearly a month ago but returned to the pitch in the Cal match.

“They’ve been integrated the whole time in terms of leadership, but getting them back on the field adds depth to what we’re trying to do,” said coach Amanda Cromwell.

Other notable absences include junior defender Jacey Pederson, who has been recovering from surgery since early September, as well as senior forward/defender Hailie Mace and junior midfielder Jessie Fleming – both of whom have been called up to the United States and Canadian National teams, respectively.

Pederson was anticipated to fill the void at the outside back position left by last year’s graduating class, which included three regular defenders.

In her place, sophomore midfielder/forward Delanie Sheehan has been serving as the Bruins’ outside back. Sheehan has scored two goals from her newfound position.

“(Sheehan) came in as a midfielder so she is used to receiving pressure from a 360-degree angle, where as a fullback you just have the sideline and the people in front of you,” Micah said. “She has been able to pop inside, which makes it harder for other teams to keep track of runners because our players are so versatile.”

Sophomore forward Ashley Sanchez has also been transitioned positionally to fill in the gap left by Fleming’s absence in center midfield. Sanchez’s ball control has been an asset to the Bruins, as the sophomore has logged two goals and two assists.

Despite the adjustments made to the lineup, UCLA is still not where it needs to be.

“The healthier we get, we can keep adding people and the better we’re going to be toward the end of the season,” Cromwell said.

The Bruins have just eight regular season games left to adapt to their new personnel before the NCAA tournament begins.