This post was updated Nov. 1 at 9:46 p.m.
Through joyful tears, the Bruins capped off Senior Day celebrations with their fourth consecutive win.
Outshooting its opponent by a margin of 21-2, No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer (17-1, 9-1 Pac-12) secured a 3-0 victory over Washington (9-6-3, 3-6-1) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Sunday, marking the program’s seventh straight victory over the Huskies.
Prior to kickoff, the Bruins celebrated the senior and graduate student members of the team with a Senior Day ceremony. Coach Margueritte Aozasa emphasized the importance of success to honor the hard work of the team’s senior players.
“Today was all about the seniors,” Aozasa said. “Festivities started early today, but I think the team just put on an inspired performance. They just wanted to show the seniors how much we care about them and how much we appreciate them”
Despite this season being her first with the program, Aozasa noted her staff’s strong relationships and appreciation for the seniors.
“I even felt very emotional about it even though I’ve only coached the seniors for eight or nine months,” Aozasa said. “But they’ve been so instrumental in our success this year. They’ve embraced us as a staff. And we just love them so much. So I was definitely in my feels a little bit before the game started.”
The game’s action started within the first minute after the pregame ceremonies came to a close, when a shot by Huskies forward Summer Yates ricocheted first off the left post, and then off graduate student goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy for the first save of the game. After that early opportunity to score, Washington didn’t record another shot until the match’s final 10 seconds.
UCLA fired back with its first attempt on goal in the 15th minute, a low-driven shot by sophomore defender Quincy McMahon that snuck through heavy traffic in the box but was saved by Washington goalkeeper Olivia Sekany. The blue and gold applied pressure continuously throughout the first half but failed to convert on any of its 10 first-half shots, four of which registered on goal.
Senior midfielder Jackie Gilday said the team was not deterred by its scoreless first half.
“(Our second half approach) was just staying confident in our game plan and confident in ourselves knowing it was going to come,” Gilday said. “We didn’t let it freak us out or rattle us, we just kept playing our game and we got a goal out of it because of that.”
The Bruins picked up where they left off in the second half, quickly applying offensive force before recording their first goal of the match in the 49th minute. A sequence of slick passes ended with freshman midfielder Ally Lemos finding open graduate student forward Ally Cook for the first goal in 12 consecutive shots for UCLA.
Seven minutes later, the Bruins doubled their lead off a strike by McMahon, assisted by graduate student midfielder Maricarmen Reyes. The sophomore defender slotted a screamer into the top right corner from well outside the box for her first goal of the season.
UCLA finished off the scoring with an 88th-minute goal by Gilday into the bottom right corner, the first goal of her collegiate career.
“It meant a lot to me because it was my first career goal. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play today due to injury, and my whole family was here,” Gilday said. “So it was just a whole team effort and everyone was a part of it. … This team is everything.”
After securing the 23rd victory in the last 25 regular season games for the Bruins, the Senior Day emotions and festivities continued. Parents, friends and siblings lined the railing as players signed autographs for excited young fans.
Senior forward Sunshine Fontes reflected on what her time in the women’s soccer program has meant to her, while also alluding that her time with the blue and gold may not be over after this season.
“It’s meant a lot. I think there’s been a lot of ups and downs but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Fontes said. “It’s starting to get real, I think. All of our other seniors – there were a lot of waterworks today, and I didn’t quite cry yet, so I think it hasn’t hit me. … I might be back. I don’t know yet, we’ll see.”
UCLA is set to play its final regular season game in rivalry fashion against USC on Friday at McAlister Field before beginning preparation for the NCAA tournament.
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