A novel era for the Bruins commenced with a shutout victory from the go.

Immediately setting the tone of the game by scoring all three goals in the first half, No. 11 UCLA women’s soccer defeated Long Beach State 3-0 at George Allen Field on Thursday.

“We wanted to have this be what we want our season to be like,” said senior midfielder Emma Egizii. “Grit is obviously one of the things we want to have, so regardless of the conditions, we just wanted to get a good result.”

Within the first two minutes, senior defender Quincy McMahon ran the ball up the left sideline, crossing it to graduate student midfielder Meg Boade. But Boade shot the ball over the crossbar, falling just short in UCLA’s first scoring opportunity.

In another offensive attack, junior forward Bridgette Marin-Valencia did a Cruyff turn toward the inside of the box to shoot. Initially blocked by Long Beach’s goalkeeper Aurora Schuck, Egizii knocked the ball to the back of the net off of Schuck’s deflection and netted the Bruins’ first goal.

Four minutes later, Marin-Valencia got her turn.

After getting her shot blocked by Schuck, the California local scored off a deflection from freshman forward Bella Winn.

“I know this team has my back 100%. So, even if that shot didn’t reflect off, I knew I would have had all the support in the world,” Marin-Valencia said. “Just having the support from my team and coaches to have the confidence that I want genuinely helps bring all of our talent out.”

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Egizii swerved her way through four Long Beach defenders to bag her second goal of the night – tying her total season goals in 2023.

“Last season, she was kind of just getting her legs under her, really getting used to what we’ve been asking of her,” said coach Marguerite Aozasa. “This year, she’s much more established.”

Keeping the ball on Long Beach’s side for the majority of the first 45 minutes, UCLA’s defense had a quiet first half, but the Beach attempted just one shot compared to the Bruins’ 13.

Long Beach found opportunities with one corner and one free kick in the first half, but both attempts were sent straight into the hands of graduate student goalkeeper Ryan Campbell.

It was a scoreless second half for both sides, but it was a physical one. Four fouls – three from Long Beach and one from UCLA – were committed in the first five minutes of the frame, as there a combined 21 by the game’s end.

The Beach’s forward Grace Caldwell was dealt the first yellow card of her career following her first foul of the night on sophomore forward Sophie Reale.

“That’s what we have to expect from the Big Ten,” Marin-Valencia said. “That everything is going to be much more aggressive, much more scrappy, and we’re going to have to be scrappy back.”

With a quick turnaround, the Bruins will play their first nonconference home game against UC Riverside on Sunday at 2 p.m.