A tie would have been sufficient to earn the Bruins conference points.

But that mindset does not get a team very far.

So when junior midfielder Cate Sarinopoulos got the ball in the 85th minute, she knew she was taking it to the goal.

“I got the ball, and Gof (coach Gof Boyoko) always tells us to finish the attack, and I was like, ‘Okay, I need to get a shot off,’ and I just dribbled and I got on my left foot, and I was like, ‘I’m just going to slot it and bend it around.’”

Riding on Sarinopoulos’ late-game goal, No. 12 UCLA women’s soccer (6-3-1, 3-1 Big Ten) earned its second consecutive shutout with a 1-0 victory over Rutgers (2-4-3, 1-3) at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Thursday night.

The Scarlet Knights opened the game with four unanswered shots, setting the tone of a night they would dominate in opportunities. But despite accumulating 15 shots to UCLA’s five through the course of the night, Rutgers struck just one on frame and never managed to find the back of the net.

UCLA’s defensive unit thwarted attempts before they even reached sophomore goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor, who had to make five saves to earn her clean slate a week prior. The Bruins have conceded just two goals so far across Big Ten play, including against two top-five opponents.

“The backline does change people a lot, but one thing that we all understand is communication and marking your player in the box,” said junior defender Paloma Daubert. “That’s something that we’ve been working on every training, and it’s been paying off in games.”

Daubert anchors the backline as the only athlete on the team who has played in every game for all 90 minutes, a trend she continued Thursday. The team captain earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday after helping UCLA shutout No. 5 Ohio State for its first ranked win of conference play.

The rest of the backline – like most of the lineup – has evolved game to game as players are slotted in and out of starting roles. Their efficacy as a unit has remained consistent, though, as exemplified by Thursday’s performance, including denying the Scarlet Knights zero shots on goal off their four corners.

“My philosophy and stuff is to take away the stigma of, ‘Oh, she’s a starter,’” Boyoko said. “It’s a 28-player roster, so whoever is here and whoever we decided to be here at UCLA means that we believe they can do the job. So of course you’re gonna have somebody like a team captain, Paloma Daubert, that’s gonna be there. But we have players like (sophomore midfielder) Laila Edris that came in yesterday and did well, we have (junior forward) Sammy Sanchez that’s coming back from injury, we have (junior midfielder) Asa Yamazaki that’s been counting the past few days.”

Offensively, the Bruins were slower to find their footing, picking up a yellow card before attempting a single shot, which ultimately came in the waning minutes of the first half. The referee’s whistle was common on a night when 18 fouls were evenly distributed between the teams.

“East Coast football is different than West Coast football,” Boyoko said. “When you play on the West Coast, you will see it’s more a fluid, technical possession style, that there’s not as much contact. … Yesterday, there’s a disruption that kind of throws off a little bit, but we battle back and we show that if we need to pick up the level of aggression, we can do it, and I’m very happy about it.”

Senior forward Olivia Woodson created a pair of opportunities for the Bruins, recording a shot in each half. The Auburn transfer has logged the second-most shots of any player on UCLA this season with 13, trailing only sophomore forward Leena Powell.

The Bruins have integrated multiple veteran collegiate attackers into their offensive system since they arrived in Westwood in the offseason. Alongside Woodson is Sarinopoulos, who transferred from TCU after making a College Cup appearance last year.

Sarinopoulos subbed back into the game with less than 15 minutes left in the game. Coming off the bench, the Boulder local gave UCLA the spark it needed to crack a stalemate – a left-footed shot driven to the back corner of the net, strikingly similar to the first goal she score for her team Aug. 20.

“My role has been changing since the season started,” Sarinopoulos said. “I went from starting games to playing five minutes last game. So it’s like when you get a chance to play and you get a chance to be on the field, you have to make a difference, and in that moment, we needed a goal. Me or the other subs that come on – that’s our purpose. That’s why we’re on the field.”

Rutgers stayed in the match through the last minute, when forward Lilia Calvert attempted her seventh shot of the night with 39 seconds left on the clock.

When the dust settled on the flurry of action in the last 15 minutes, the Bruins had solidified their first road win of Big Ten play. While the box score may have favored the Scarlet Knights, the scoreboard did not.

“We don’t have to lose to learn,” Sarinopoulos said.

UCLA will face Maryland in College Park on Sunday to conclude its trip to the East Coast. The Terrapins are 0-4 in conference play.