Women’s soccer strives to improve conference record with weekend games
Senior defender Kaiya McCullough has started every game for No. 18 UCLA women’s soccer this season. The Bruins are coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 2 Stanford on Oct. 19 (Kanishka Mehra/Assistant Photo editor)
By Matthew Kenney
Oct. 24, 2019 12:39 a.m.
The Bruins are entering the home stretch.
No. 18 UCLA women’s soccer (9-4-1, 3-3-0 Pac-12) will take the field at home against Washington (9-3-2, 5-1-0) on Thursday and No. 19 Washington State (10-3-1, 3-2-1) on Sunday to kick off its final five games of the regular season. The Bruins will have to win three of the five games to avoid their first losing record in Pac-12 play since 2015.
“Washington’s playing the best soccer I’ve seen them play in years, so they’re going to be a battle tomorrow,” said coach Amanda Cromwell. “Same for Washington State – they are both quality teams.”
The Huskies had the worst nonconference record in the Pac-12 at 4-2-2 through Sept. 19, but have since vaulted to second place during conference play with a 5-1-0 record and are on a three-game winning streak entering Thursday. Washington has already matched its conference win total from the last two seasons combined, and a win Thursday would give the Huskies their most Pac-12 wins since 2001.
After finishing the nonconference season with the second-fewest goals in the Pac-12, the Huskies are tied for third with nine goals against conference opponents. Forward Summer Yates has led the way on offense with six goals and five assists.
“If there’s anything that the Pac-12 has proven this year, it’s that it’s anyone’s game on any given day,” said redshirt senior forward/midfielder Anika Rodriguez. “We just need to show up with the best versions of ourselves, and I really don’t think that many people can come close to what we have here.”
The Bruins will then host the Cougars, who won seven of their first eight games and are one spot above UCLA in the Pac-12 standings but one spot below in the national rankings. Washington State most recently beat Oregon 1-0 – the Cougars’ third shutout in their past four games.
On offense, Washington State has created opportunities to score but has struggled to convert them consistently. Since the start of conference play, the Cougars have taken the second-most shots in the Pac-12 with 100 but are last in goals with just four – good for a .04 shot percentage.
Forward Morgan Weaver is tied to lead Washington State with five goals but has not scored since conference play began. Defender Brianna Alger has helped create scoring opportunities for the Cougars with seven assists, placing her third in the Pac-12.
Washington State accounted for the first of UCLA’s conference losses last season, shutting out the Bruins 1-0. The Cougars also beat the Bruins 1-0 in 2017, making Washington State one of just two teams – along with the Stanford – that UCLA has not beaten in the past two years.
“Both Washington and Washington State are competitors,” said senior defender Kaiya McCullough. “They both look like they’re up to the challenge this year.”
UCLA was on a three-game winning streak before losing 1-0 to Stanford on Oct. 19, falling back to a .500 conference record as a result. Of the Bruins’ three Pac-12 losses, two have been by a single goal.
Rodriguez said the key to winning these close games is improving the offense.
“If you look at last weekend, we didn’t score,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not something we’re comfortable with. We’ve been taking that discomfort and fine-tuning the details and just making sure that when do we get those big chances against Stanford the next time we play them, we’re able to finish.”
The other one-goal loss came in UCLA’s conference opener against California when the Bruins fell 2-1 to the Golden Bears at home. UCLA sits at fifth in the conference despite having the second-best goal differential in the Pac-12 during conference play.
“I think for our team, we’ve had really good defensive games with maybe one mistake that cost us a goal,” McCullough said. “For us, it’s about being really plugged in at all times during the game – not just for 99% of, but for 100% of it.”
The Bruins will also honor their seniors, World Cup representatives, and coaches on Sunday as a part of World Cup Day. Those recognized will include seniors midfielder Jessie Fleming and goalkeeper Teagan Micah, who both missed games this season to play for their respective national teams.
Kickoffs will be at 8 p.m. on Thursday against Washington and Sunday noon against Washington State.
