Women’s soccer returns to pitch with matchup against Pepperdine

This post was updated Aug. 15 at 9:08 p.m.

Three months ago, the Bruins bowed out of the NCAA tournament.

On Thursday, they returned to action at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

“When we were walking out to Wallis (on Thursday), it seemed like we were there just last week,” said graduate midfielder Marley Canales. “It did seem like a quick turnaround, but it’s not a feeling that you want to go long without.”

One week out from its season opener, UCLA women’s soccer took on Pepperdine in its first and only exhibition match of the 2021 campaign. The Bruins’ 2020-2021 season was subjected to a six-month, pandemic-induced delay, creating a much shorter offseason than normal leading into their second season of the calendar year.

With last season ending in May instead of December, UCLA made its return to the practice field fewer than 90 days after its NCAA tournament run came to a close in a penalty shootout loss to Clemson.

Coach Amanda Cromwell said the Bruins made the most of the limited time off, with each player developing their own training regimen.

“Some of them played on women’s league teams and got some games in, some of them were just weight training and doing schoolwork and running on their own and finding pickup opportunities,” Cromwell said. “It was kind of a whole gamut of what they did to organize their summer workouts.”

The offseason also gave some of UCLA’s players a chance to recover from injuries that plagued the team last fall and throughout last season.

Although she was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in April, sophomore forward Kaila Novak said she dealt with two ankle injuries a season ago but was able to utilize the summer to recover and strengthen her body.

Novak added that the Bruins have looked stronger than ever in practice thus far.

“Our first practice, we came out and we played 11-v-11, and everyone looked so sharp – mentally, physically, everything,” Novak said. “We really put the work in this summer to come back as a stronger team than last season.”

UCLA got a chance to engage in some competition outside of its own squad with Thursday’s exhibition against Pepperdine, just 10 days after returning to the pitch as a team.

The Bruins took home the unofficial win as sophomore forward Reilyn Turner did what she did better than anyone else in the Pac-12 her freshman year – score goals. Turner posted the lone goal in a 1-0 UCLA win before the two teams played an extra 30-minute segment, which saw freshman midfielder Emma Egizii find the back of the net for the first time as a Bruin.

The exhibition matchup also marked the return of spectators to Wallis Annenberg Stadium, with members of the UCLA men’s basketball and men’s soccer teams among the more than 1,000 fans in attendance.

“It was amazing,” Cromwell said. “Wallis Annenberg Stadium is awesome with the fans being right on top of the field. And the atmosphere, you can feel it. The men’s soccer team was chanting, and you could feel the energy, which we definitely lacked in the spring season home games.”

In addition to Egizii, who came off the bench to notch her score, the Bruins had multiple freshmen register significant minutes in the exhibition. The team has reworked its backline after three of its top defenders graduated, with junior defender Brianne Riley anchoring the new group, according to Cromwell.

Cromwell commended freshman defender Lilly Reale’s work at center back, while also praising freshman defender Quincy McMahon, who Cromwell said is an explosive player who can slot into multiple positions.

Less than two weeks into their collegiate stints, Canales said the entire freshman class has bought into the team’s culture, while Novak added that the freshmen already feel like a part of the Bruin family.

“They have integrated so flawlessly and so easily,” Novak said. “We want to have that family-type aspect and that chemistry on the field because that’s what people are going to notice is how we play like a true family and for each other.”

Canales said the talented freshman class will bring an extra level of depth for UCLA, which will be important for the Bruins to keep fresh legs as the season progresses following the short offseason.

“We have so many players, with the freshmen included and just the rest of our team, that can step into any role, and the level doesn’t decrease,” Canales said. “We look at our bench, and anyone can go in at any time. Anyone can start. It’s super exciting because it takes the weight off of our shoulders.”

Defending Pac-12 Champions

For the first time since 2015, UCLA will enter the season as the reigning Pac-12 champions after finishing with a 9-1-1 record in conference play in the 2020-2021 season, including its first win over Stanford in seven years.

Novak said the Bruins are ready to go back-to-back.

“We’re definitely coming off a high after winning Pac-12,” Novak said. “We’re going to do that again. That’s our mentality.”

Entering her fifth year with the program, Canales said she hopes UCLA can translate its Pac-12 championship into something more.

“We want to feel that again,” Canales said. “That was kind of our first taste of winning league. Obviously we’ve gone far in the tournament, but we haven’t won anything. We’re definitely going to be hungry.”