Without proper sunlight, life fails to thrive.
But in the lapse of their Sunshine, the Bruins proved they can thrive under any conditions.
Off of six goals from as many scorers, No. 5 UCLA women’s soccer (10-1, 4-0 Pac-12) defeated Oregon State (3-5-4, 0-3-1) by a score of 6-0 Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The game was the Bruins’ first home contest and second overall without forward/midfielder Sunshine Fontes after the graduate student sustained an ACL tear against Washington.
“This team has been known to rise to the occasion,” said senior forward Reilyn Turner about the team’s perseverance since Fontes’ injury.
UCLA faced a scoring drought to begin play.
Despite notching nine shots within the first half hour of play, the Bruins remained scoreless.
But junior midfielder Emma Egizii slashed the lull when she launched the ball into the middle of the net for a penalty kick after drawing the foul from Oregon State forward McKenna Martinez.
Egizii said scoring the initial goal of the contest provided some relief to the team.
“It takes pressure off of us,” Egizii said. “Our goal is always to start strong, and once we get the first one, it builds good momentum.”
Egizii’s goal wouldn’t be the only one resulting from a penalty kick, however. Junior defender Jayden Perry converted one of her own in the 45th minute just seconds before the half ended.
The Bruins didn’t stop there. Three minutes into the second half, Turner barreled down the open field with the ball in tow. And instead of taking the scoring opportunity for herself, she launched it down the field toward a sprinting junior forward Lexi Wright, who managed to bring UCLA’s total to three with a rapidly dribbled goal.
Turner would still get her time in the sun, though. Five minutes later, the senior forward found the back of the net herself, bringing her squad’s lead to 4-0.
“With Sunshine being such a big goal-scoring presence, this team has really stepped up in place of that,” Turner said. “And obviously it’s a really big loss that we had, but I think this team has done a really good job of rising to the occasion.”
In the 64th minute, sophomore midfielder Ally Lemos put another goal up on the board. And with just over 10 minutes remaining, the entire starting lineup would return to the bench, granting the second string players their chance to shine.
Sophomore America Frias would be the player to step up to the plate this time. The forward would close the scoring with her first goal of the season off the Bruins’ third penalty kick of the game.
Coach Margueritte Aozasa said that in light of Fontes’ recent injury, the entire squad stepped up.
“We’ve been saying our depth is really what is going to carry us through,” Aozasa said. “And tonight you were able to see the quality we have.”
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