By LeEdward Johnson Jr.
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
The UCLA women’s lacrosse team solidified their No. 1
ranking as they beat a winless UCSD squad 12-0 Sunday
afternoon.
The Bruins (9-1) displayed true team chemistry. Megan Kaley led
the Bruins with four goals, along with Katie Marino who had two,
and six other players with one to secure the pounding.
It was a day of swift defense, which the Bruins played
aggressively and orderly. Most of the game was spent terrorizing
UCSD in front of their goal; offensively, UCLA ripped the
Tritons’ goalie apart in the Bruins’ wear-and-tear
offensive tactic.
The nation’s best goalie and UCLA’s No. 1 recruit,
freshman Katie Gibbs, had a dominating performance.
“I was a little nervous at first. Our defense played well;
everyone communicated and played hard,” said Gibbs, who had
five blocks.
Although the Bruins previously defeated UCSD 11-0 they wanted to
perform even better than before.
“We really wanted to play with more control this game and
keep the game at our level,” said Shonta Loecker, who scored
the Bruins’ last goal.
The team’s offense and defense are among the best in the
nation, which the team credits to Gibbs, center Elsa Beyers and its
overall player flexibility.
“Everyone on the team is capable of scoring; our players
are all flexible and capable of playing many positions,”
Kaley said.
Entering the game, the UCLA squad felt confident and wanted to
improve their infield game, sliding and communication on
defense.
“We really wanted to work hard and improve our infield
play,” Marino said.