JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior midfielder
Tracey Milburn glides past her opponent in UCLA’s
loss last weekend.
By Jeff Agase
Daily Bruin Contributor
The jubilation of a monumental season for the UCLA women’s
soccer team culminated with disappointment in the Bruins’
first-ever national championship game.
A great deal transpired between a season-opening loss to
highly-touted Clemson and a season-ending loss to North Carolina in
the College Cup in San Jose. The Bruins began the season ranked
14th nationally and traveled to South Carolina on the last weekend
in August for the Clemson Women’s Soccer Nike Kickoff
Classic.
UCLA fell to the No. 6 Tigers by just a goal, 1-0, but proceeded
to sweep away Georgia State 5-0 in the consolation game. The
shutout victory was the first of 15 on the year for the Bruins.
“Everyone was really fired up for the game. Unfortunately
we didn’t come out on top,” freshman sweeper Nandi
Pryce said then of the loss to Clemson. “We definitely gave
them a run for their money.”
After the Clemson loss came a UCLA tour de force. The Bruins
were unbeaten in their next 13 games, outscoring opponents
48-3.
Highlights of the unbeaten streak included a 4-0 drubbing of
then-No. 10 Florida in Gainesville and a new school record for
consecutive shutouts with six.
 JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Freshman defender
Kathryn Lee ducks under the ball to get by her Tar
Heel opponent in the Bruins’ NCAA championship game loss last
weekend. UCLA had an amazing season despite coming in second. Bruin
goalkeeper CiCi Peterson deflected much of the praise for the
record to her stalwart defense that allowed only ten goals in 24
games.
“This is a team record,” Peterson said. “I
can’t take all the credit for it. The defense has worked hard
and I haven’t had to do all that much.”
The words of UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis after a 3-0 victory
over Fresno State would prove prophetic for a landmark year in the
program’s history.
“We need to keep on keeping on, but continue to
improve,” Ellis said. “Ultimately we want to peak near
the playoffs.”
The Pac-10 season began Oct. 8 with the biggest conference match
of the year. The Bruins traveled across town to the Coliseum for a
slugfest against rival USC and fought 90 minutes, two overtimes,
and a hostile Trojan crowd to a 1-1 tie.
The Bruins out-shot USC 30-14 but were unable to convert on many
of their scoring chances.
“Both teams created a lot of chances, and it’s just
a knock-down drag-out, which it usually is with these two
teams,” Ellis said. “I think any time you play against
a good team, it stretches us. We now know that we have to play well
to get results.”
The following weekend, the Bruins returned home to christen the
new Marshall Field at Drake Stadium against an Oregon squad that
was due for a pummeling.
And pummel the Bruins did. UCLA set new school records for a
Division I team with eight goals and 35 shots in the 8-0 blanking.
The Bruin train of destruction was chugging along the tracks, but
the following weekend’s stop in Seattle loomed ominously in
the distance.
The Bruins triumphed over Washington State 1-0 in Pullman in a
tough Friday night game and headed across the state to take on
Pac-10 leading Washington in a Sunday matinee.
A USC loss Friday night to the Huskies meant the Bruins could
take sole possession of the conference lead, but they fell, 1-0, in
the 4th minute of overtime, despite out-shooting Washington
25-3.
“We outplayed them. We out-shot them,” Ellis said.
“It’s a tough loss for us because we were definitely
the better team on the day. We had a breakdown and they
capitalized.”
Out of the conference title hunt, the Bruins focused on their
four remaining Pac-10 games to solidify a favorable seeding in the
NCAA tournament. A homestand against West Coast powerhouses
Stanford and California produced victories of 5-0 and 4-1,
respectively.
“For some reason, I had this feeling that we were going to
not just beat them, but beat them by a lot,” senior forward
Tracey Milburn said. “We finished, which was big.
That’s what we didn’t do against Washington.”
The stage was set for the Bruins to enter the NCAA playoffs on a
four game winning streak, but a trip to Arizona State quickly
dispelled that hope. UCLA lost its second overtime game in three
weeks, 1-0, this time in the second overtime period. The Bruins
finished up the regular season with an empowering 8-0 thrashing of
Arizona two days later
When the playoff seedings were announced, the Bruins were still
on their way home from the Valley of the Sun. Much to their
delight, they received a sixth seed and first round bye, setting up
a rematch with USC in the second round, this time at Drake
Stadium.
UCLA had no problem converting its scoring opportunities this
time, finding the net three times and shutting out their rivals to
advance to the third round.
“Obviously this is a tremendous result for us,”
Ellis said. “Not only is it an advancement to the third
round, but it’s a victory over USC, and it doesn’t
matter at what point of the season it comes.”
Next up on the UCLA firing line was Texas A&M, which came to
visit the following Sunday. The Aggies went back to College Station
with a 4-0 defeat, courtesy of the red-hot and peaking Bruins. The
win set up a rematch with Clemson in the quarterfinal round.
The Bruins and Tigers traded goals before Breana Boling’s
goal in the 60th minute lifted UCLA to its first Final Four
appearance. Revenge couldn’t have been any sweeter.
“I wanted this so badly for my team,” Ellis said.
“I really haven’t thought about it personally. I wanted
to for my seniors. It is a great reward for them”
UCLA joined Portland, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in San Jose
for the College Cup, where the Bruins opened the soccer
world’s eyes to a new West coast power.
The Bruins took on Portland in a frigid Friday evening semifinal
matchup and surprised many with a 1-0 victory, giving themselves a
chance to play storied North Carolina for the national championship
on Sunday.
Shockingly, in that game UCLA took the lead on the Tar Heels
when Lindsay Greco scored from point-blank range in the 54th
minute. The Bruins’ first-ever national title was in sight,
but farther in the distance than it appeared.
North Carolina answered with two goals in a span of eight
minutes to claim its 16th national title and put an end to the most
successful season in UCLA history.
A year of Bruin firsts included single-season records in
shutouts (15), goals (76), shots (465), and goals against (10). In
addition, the welcome addition of newcomers Sarah-Gayle Swanson (14
goals, 4 assists), Stephanie Rigamat (13G, 11A), and Lindsay Greco
(8G, 4A) complemented stellar performances from senior midfielders
Tracey Milburn (13G, 6A) and Venus James (4G, 8A) and senior
defender Karissa Hampton.
“I’m proud of my team, and what I told them at the
end of the game is the same thing I told them last year after we
lost to Santa Clara in the third round ““ that we will all
continue to work hard and that next year we’ll be back
winning,” Ellis said.
With a solid nucleus returning, the Bruins may be back next year
winning ““ the national championship.