This post was updated Oct. 21 at 10:48 p.m.

It is expected that gymnasts stick their landings.

But acrobatics are not exactly part of the soccer-pitch playbook.

The Bruins backflipped their way to a second consecutive victory Sunday, when UCLA women’s soccer (10-4-2, 6-2-2 Big Ten) defeated Nebraska (8-4-5, 3-4-3) 3-0 at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Freshman forward Payten Cooper punctuated the win with a celebratory backflip, after logging her second goal of the season.

Cooper netted the goal after sophomore forward Bella Winn received the ball in the box and found space for a shot across goal that Nebraska goalkeeper Cece Villa parried wide. Cooper pounced and squeezed the ball into the net from a tight angle, giving UCLA a three-point lead in the 57th minute. The Plano, Texas, local leaped into a cartwheel and followed with a backflip, drawing cheers from the crowd as she celebrated.

“I feel like I am the hype man of the team sometimes,” Cooper said. “We are a very energetic team, so we feed off of one another – and I knew that if I did it we would get everybody hyped.”

The Nebraska victory comes on the heels of UCLA’s upset win against No. 5 Iowa Thursday, illustrating a shift toward a more productive offense as the team’s goals-per-game average now sits at 1.19.

The Bruins averaged 29.5 shots across their last two matchups – a strong uptick from their season average of 14.6.

“The focus the last week or so was changing our mindset in front of goals,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa. “That was the biggest hurdle that we have had to clear going into postseason.”

The Bruins demonstrated this focus in the 26th minute, when junior midfielder Val Vargas played a cross into the six-yard box from a set-piece on the edge of the penalty area. The whipped ball found Winn, who leapt into the air at the back post to head the ball into the back of the net.

Just minutes later, redshirt senior midfielder Emma Egizii received the ball at the top of the box before dribbling past one Husker defender and launching a shot blocked by a Nebraska defender. The rebound bounced towards the goal, and Winn poked the ball around the Villa’s outstretched arms – earning her second goal of the night.

The two-minute goal scoring frenzy exemplified the first-half story – an unrelenting Bruin attack coupled with an absent response from the Cornhuskers. UCLA outshot Nebraska 20-2 at the half.

“Everyone is on the field smiling, laughing, making jokes between places, and it relaxes us,” Winn said. “It keeps us composed. And then, we are able to do what we know we can do.”

Winn ended the day with two goals and an assist, directly contributing to all three goals. The Bruins still outshot their opponents 8-3 even in a more equal second half.

The Bruins also had key players returning from injury. This included sophomore forward Sammy Sanchez, who made her season debut against Nebraska after suffering a season-ending injury last year. Senior forward Bridgette Marin-Valencia has also slowly received minutes these past couple of weeks after sustaining an injury against BYU on Aug. 23.

The squad will round out its regular-season play against USC this Sunday.

“I think we have made a statement in our past couple games, and we are playing great opponents,” Cooper said. “We are ready for any moment.”