Senior forward Sydney Leroux stood on the sideline after Friday’s game, hugged and comforted by her teammates as tears streamed down her face.
After four years as a starter on the UCLA women’s soccer team, Leroux’s collegiate career and her national championship hopes were cut short Friday evening.
“I mean it was not unexpected, things happen for a reason,” an emotional Leroux said. “It’s painful and I wanted to take this team farther than I did. That is kind of how I am and I wanted to prove that we could go as far as we were supposed to. I mean we were No. 2 for a reason.”
Tied 1-1 after double overtime, the Toreros converted three of five penalty kicks to earn the win after UCLA failed to close out the victory, missing its last two penalty shots.
“When you play a really good team, sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” coach B.J. Snow said. “Katelyn Rowland made some phenomenal saves there in the shoot-out and we had a chance to win and their keeper came up big.
“They made one more big play than we did today. That is why they are going through.”
After dominating possession throughout much of the match and in both overtimes, it was a heartbreaking end to an exceptional season for the Bruins.
UCLA remained on San Diego’s half of the field for almost the entire 20 minutes of overtime, taking four shots and three corner kicks.
The Toreros dropped back into a defensive formation, looking to prevent a goal and send the game into penalty kicks.
“We knew their strategy, we knew they wanted to go into PKs,” sophomore midfielder Chelsea Braun said. “We wanted to get that goal. I mean it was not a surprise that they would fall back and play all 11 defenders.”
The team came within inches of a win several times throughout the golden goal period and even in the last minutes of regulation play.
From the very beginning, UCLA was forced to play catch up after San Diego scored less than two minutes into the match.
Trailing 1-0, the Bruins played exactly as they have all year, pushing forward aggressively, dominating possession and creating promising offensive opportunities.
But none of it seemed to be working and the team’s frustration was growing increasingly obvious.
With 10 minutes left in the match, UCLA finally got the break it had been waiting for all night.
Sophomore midfielder Jenna Richmond received an end-line pass on the right side from freshman defender Abby Dahlkemper, one-timing it toward the left side of the goal. The ball hit off the inside part of the left post and slipped into the net, tying the game 1-1.
“I am so proud of how the girls came together so quickly, how they fought through everything and how they put together a season that gave them a chance of doing what they wanted to do,” Snow said. “Ultimately, that is all you can ask, to give yourself a chance.”
Friday’s loss will be painful for a while, a reminder of potential untapped in a team that found a way to win in almost all the games they played.
It may not be the exit Leroux envisioned, but the senior forward can take comfort in knowing that there is no other team that she would rather end her collegiate career with.
“Everything, I owe to this team, she said. “The senior season was my best season and my favorite season of my four years here. I just wish I could have had more time with them.”