UCLA women’s soccer claims 4th straight shutout with win over Santa Clara

This post was updated Sept. 9 at 11:08 p.m.

Lauren Brzykcy had made three saves in four games.

The senior goalkeeper tripled that total Thursday night.

No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer (5-0) defeated No. 8 Santa Clara (3-2-2) 1-0 in a battle of top-10 teams at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Behind a career night from Brzykcy and a first-half strike from sophomore forward Reilyn Turner, the blue and gold took down the defending national champions. 

“We knew it was going to be a big challenge,” Brzykcy said.  “We came up for the test, and we got the shutout and got the goal early.”

The Broncos wasted no time out of the gate, putting up three shots in the first six minutes, with the third forcing Brzykcy to dive to her left to make the save. Entering the contest, the Bruins had only given up one shot on goal in their previous two games combined.

Santa Clara controlled much of the possession in the early minutes behind an aggressive press. It took UCLA 21 minutes to get off its first shot of the game, a shot on frame by freshman defender Quincy McMahon.

“I don’t think our schedule has been as tough as Santa Clara’s,” said coach Amanda Cromwell.  “I believe they were more prepared for this game and more intense right off the bat in the first 15 minutes. … It took some time there. We worked our way in, and I thought we ended the half pretty strong.”

Minutes later, Turner found the back of the net for her fourth goal in the last two games. The reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year took a pass from redshirt junior midfielder Madelyn Desiano – her sixth assist of the year – and drilled a shot into the top right corner to put the Bruins up 1-0. 

“At first we started off a little weak with our possession, but as time went on, we settled down and we became more confident,” Turner said.

🚨 GOLAZO ALERT! 🚨@MadelynDesiano to @reilynturner for the beautiful finish! Reilyn has scored UCLA’s last four goals.

📺: @Pac12Network
📲: https://t.co/OqsMgto5oX#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/rX1nc6Fih0

— UCLA Women’s Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) September 10, 2021

It didn’t take long for Santa Clara to test Brzykcy for the second time in the game when forward Sally Menti fired a shot from outside the box, forcing the senior goalkeeper to her left again to keep the 1-0 lead.

Hanging onto a one-goal lead at halftime, the Bruins got a fourth save from Brzykcy to open the second half, with the goalkeeper coming out to stop a shot by forward Izzy D’Aquila in the 50th minute. Minutes later, D’Aquila challenged the 2020-2021 Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year again with a header into the corner that Brzykcy was able to get a hand on.

“It’s a team effort. Our backline did amazing,” Brzykcy said. “We haven’t been tested like this, and that’s my job – to always be ready.”

In the 62nd minute, D’Aquila saw her best look at goal when she broke free of the Bruin defense and was met by a scrambling Brzykcy, who ran off her line to make her sixth save of the game – three more than she had made all season entering the game.

UCLA finished the match with its fourth straight shutout – the first time the Bruins have done so since 2014 – behind a career-high-tying nine saves from Brzykcy. 

“Lauren was the reason we got the result tonight,” Cromwell said. “She was phenomenal. The 1-v-1 was the biggest one. She had a couple she had to get down for, but the 1-v-1 was huge.”

The blue and gold were outshot 18-6 in the matchup, but Turner’s first-half goal proved to be the game-winner as UCLA notched its first win over Santa Clara since 2017. With the victory, the Bruins improved to 5-0 for the second consecutive season.

“We worked our butt off, and we got the (win), so there we go,” Brzykcy said.

UCLA will be back at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Monday night to take on Cal State Northridge.