The Bruins have touched down in Utah for their game away from Southern California.
Following a 4-0 shutout win over UC Irvine last Sunday, No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer (3-0) is preparing to face its first top-10 opponent in No. 7 BYU (4-0) on Thursday in its only game of the week.
After a three-game winning streak to start the season, Coach Margueritte Aozasa said the squad is using their starting performances as a roadmap.
“I think our game against UC Irvine was a great precursor to our BYU game simply because stylistically, BYU and UC Irvine actually have quite a few similarities,” Aozasa said. “Now, if we can stay consistent on that, it’s just about making the finer adjustments.”
The Bruins are also playing out of state for the first time this season as well, which means extra preparation and practice, according to sophomore forward America Frias.
“It’s the elevation, and it is very hot and dry,” Frias said. “We are used to the heat but not this level of dryness, but I think we’re doing pretty well with our coaches and trainers doing the best they can to help us get acclimated as soon as possible.”
With extra practice and training techniques, the team is attempting to combat the unfamiliar environment with the chance to keep its winning streak going. While each away game presents different challenges, the team is anticipating a loud crowd.
“Our first travel trip always presents its challenges,” Aozasa said. “We’ll be faced with probably five or six thousand fans rooting against us tomorrow, but all of those things we have to take in stride.”
This will be the first time the Bruins have faced off against the Cougars since 2021, where the Bruins took home the win 2-1. The Cougars’ bench has a pair of Bruin transfers, including sophomore forward Ellie Walbruch and senior forward/midfielder Brecken Mozingo, who played for the Bruins in 2022 and 2019, respectively.
The new year has presented the Bruins with a new bench as well. With eight new players added to the roster, junior forward Lexi Wright said she appreciates just how deep the roster is.
“At UCI, it really showed the depth of our bench, and we had four different goal scorers. It just shows that we are very versatile,” Wright said. “If you get tired, someone’s going to come in and do great.”
UCLA is keeping its sights on a repeat championship win with three games under its belt and a new roster. However, Aozasa said she and the team know there is no guarantee of a repeat.
The new season brings new opportunities to improve, with champion returners such as Wright and Frias finding unique opportunities to step into their roles as returners.
While the new match presents an opportunity against a ranked team, Frias said the end goal remains the focus.
“Just having all wins so far is helping, just knowing that we have started off well and that we just need to keep that momentum going,” Frias said. “Weirdly, we do talk about the previous games or the previous matches, but we also try to set our eyes forward.”
The Bruins will face off against the Cougars on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Provo, Utah.
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