UCLA Sports Information UCLA women’s soccer head coach
Jillian Ellis (left) returns to her alma mater,
William and Mary, this Saturday when the No. 2 Bruins travel to
Virginia.
By Michelle Coppolella
Daily Bruin Reporter
As the No. 2 UCLA women’s soccer team heads to Virginia
this weekend to take on James Madison and William and Mary, there
are two things on head coach Jillian Ellis’ mind: winning and
sandwiches.
“There’s this one restaurant ““ the Cheese Shop
in Colonial Williamsburg. It has the best sandwiches you’ve
ever had in your entire life,” Ellis said.
“That’s my main motivation for going back.”
Well, that and the fact that Ellis will return to the familiar
halls and green soccer fields where she once studied and played
soccer for four years of her life when the 5-0 Bruins play William
and Mary on Sunday.
Two years after moving from Portsmouth, England, to the United
States at age 15, Ellis took William and Mary’s women’s
soccer program by storm with her raw talent and strong
leadership.
“She had tremendous individual ability that had to be
nurtured within the team,” William and Mary women’s
soccer coach John Daly said. “And, because she was a creator
to whom others responded, she really put our program on the
map.”
While Ellis was making a name for her alma mater, she gained
individual recognition for her efforts in the process, receiving an
honorable mention All-Region selection her sophomore year. Her
success continued when she was named a third-team All-American and
became a member of the Intercollegiate Soccer Association Senior
Recognition team her senior year.
Yet while her national recognition in college was both
commendable and memorable, what Ellis cherishes today are the
experiences she had with her teammates and the experiences she has
continued to have with them throughout the years.
“I don’t remember wins, loses or statistics,”
Ellis said. “But what I’m most proud of from William
and Mary is coming out with great friends and a good
education.”
“When you put everything aside, you’re not really
going to know whether you were 14-5 your junior year, but what
you’re going to have is somebody who’s probably going
to be in your wedding. Those are the values and important things
that go into a college.”
That’s not to say that Ellis’ determination and
desire to win are fading. To the contrary, she knows that the road
to the College Cup won’t be gold-paved for the Bruins. And
this weekend’s game is just another hurdle for the Bruins to
clear.
“William and Mary has a lot of tradition. It’s been
in the playoffs almost every year of its existence and it’s
produced national team players and All”“Americans,”
Ellis said. “I think they’re going to be as hungry as
we are to go in there and get a win on the road.”
Hungry? Not a problem. Ellis knows the way to the Cheese
Shop.