The Bruins spent the first week of class with a test on the pitch.
Despite taking the lead early on with two goals in 15 minutes, No. 5 UCLA women’s soccer (8-1, 2-0 Pac-12) had a battle against Washington (5-3-2, 0-2) on Thursday night before emerging with a 3-2 win in Seattle. The Bruins and Huskies totaled 23 fouls by the end of the night, three of which resulted in penalty kicks that both teams capitalized on.
Coach Margueritte Aozasa said she was happy with the first 30 minutes of the game but wanted to see more maturity later on.
“What we talked about the rest of the game was just being more mature, being more professional, being more consistent so that we don’t kind of lose the rhythm of the game,” Aozasa said. “It became more of a game than it needed to be.”
Graduate student midfielder/forward Sunshine Fontes got the ball rolling for UCLA with a converted free kick less than seven minutes in.
“Sunshine’s definitely one of those players that can get it done for us, and she stepped up and she took that free kick, and she did what she had to do,” said junior defender Jayden Perry.
But later that evening, Fontes was fouled in the box and went out with an injury, which Aozasa said the team was waiting to hear back from doctors about.
Graduate student forward Ally Cook doubled the Bruins’ lead in the 15th minute off a cross from senior forward Reilyn Turner, which was assisted by junior midfielder Emma Egizii.
The reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, Cook tallied her sixth goal Thursday evening and solidified her rank as the Bruins’ leading scorer.
Junior defender Ayo Oke said Cook is a difficult player to defend.
“She’s a really dynamic nine,” Oke said. “It’s really helpful with her multiple different runs because it’s hard to defend.”
But soon after, the momentum shifted at Husky Soccer Stadium.
A foul sent Washington’s Ioanna Papatheodorou to the 11-meter line for a penalty kick before the half, and the Greek forward cut UCLA’s lead in half.
Ten minutes after returning from the halftime break, the Bruins gave the Huskies an opportunity to equalize after a foul in the box from Cook while defending a free kick.
Papatheodorou went for the penalty kick yet again and found her way past sophomore goalkeeper Neeku Purcell for the second time that evening.
Aozasa said Purcell held her composure despite the Huskies’ momentum.
“PKs, again, the odds are against you as a goalkeeper,” Aozasa said. “She did a really nice job just organizing the backline.”
But UCLA did not let the Washington penalty kicks go unanswered.
The foul that sent Fontes out of the game resulted in a penalty kick of the Bruins’ own, which Perry took for UCLA. A kick to the bottom right of the net of goalkeeper Olivia Juarez and the Bruins were back with a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Perry said that when taking those shots, she tries to stay in the moment.
“I just was thinking about where I was gonna put it, and I put it there and that’s all that matters,” Perry said.
UCLA will next travel across the state to Pullman to face Washington State on Sunday in another potentially hostile road environment.
Aozasa said the matchup will be another test for the Bruins.
“Can we take the lessons we learned from tonight in terms of composure and maturity, and can we apply that?” Aozasa said. “If we do that, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
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