This post was updated Sept. 9 at 12:42 a.m.
As the ball sailed over the Long Beach State goalkeeper and fell into the back of the net, UCLA had its first hat trick of the season.
In the 80th minute, graduate student midfielder/forward Sunshine Fontes scored her third goal of the game, helping No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer (4-1) win a shutout against Long Beach State (4-3). The Bruins won the game 4-0, getting back in the win column after a road loss to BYU.
Fontes scored 11 goals last season and said getting the hat trick meant a lot individually and to the team.
“I haven’t really scored much this season yet,” Fontes said. “So I think moving forward, this makes me really excited for myself and for the rest of this team.”
The first of Fontes’ three goals came off an assist from senior forward Reilyn Turner in the 17th minute following several missed shots each from Long Beach State and UCLA.
Senior midfielder Michaela Rosenbaum scored another first-half goal. After being subbed in the 40th minute, Rosenbaum scored within less than two minutes, making the game 2-0.
“When I’m on the bench, I try to analyze and take in the game and just really focus on if I do get the chance to go in, what can I do to change the game,” Rosenbaum said. “When I went in, I saw Taylor (freshman forward Taylor Cheatham) going down the line, and I was like, ‘OK, just get in a good position, because I know she’ll get that across.’”
In fact, all three players involved in UCLA’s second goal, including Rosenbaum and Cheatham, were substitutions made just a minute and a half prior to the goal.
“We have a lot of depth, and it showed tonight,” coach Margueritte Aozasa said. “We put in three players who we knew could make a difference, and they did.”
The momentum of the late first-half goal carried into the second half, with the Bruins coming out strong on the attack. Within the first 16 minutes of the half, UCLA had six second-half shots to Long Beach State’s zero.
However, it wasn’t just the number of shots that was important for Aozasa.
“What I like tonight about our chances is we only had 14 shots, … but it seemed like all of them were critical chances as opposed to just kind of half chances,” Aozasa said.
She also attributed the chances in the attacking half to a strong performance on the defending end, adding that she was really pleased with what the UCLA defense accomplished.
The final two goals of the game were scored by Fontes, including one penalty that was drawn by Turner in the 57th minute. The converted penalty, followed by an 80th-minute goal, marked a decisive victory for UCLA.
This 4-0 victory comes after a 3-1 loss to BYU knocked UCLA women’s soccer from its position as the No. 1 team in the country.
Aozasa said this result means a lot for the team, considering the quality of coaching and organization of the Long Beach State team.
“We’re kind of getting to that point in the season where we really need to start fine-tuning things as we head into conference,” Aozasa said. “So really pleased with the result and more than that, pleased with the performance.”
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