As UCLA looks to continue its winning streak, new challenges approach.
No. 6 UCLA women’s soccer will face its first ranked opponents of the year, taking on No. 11 Santa Clara on Sunday and then No. 4 BYU on Wednesday, both matchups at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
Although the Bruins entered the season ranked No. 11, they quickly ascended to No. 6 after a succession of high-scoring victories.
“We’ve been talking a lot about just every game is going to be better,” graduate student midfielder Meg Boade said.
Most recently, UCLA defeated Cal Poly 1-0 on Thursday where senior defender Lilly Reale scored the only goal of match.
Reale said the squad would use the close game as a building block, especially for the younger players new to collegiate soccer.
“We’re taking that experience that we’ve gained, and what we can get better at, which is maybe just going a little bit harder in the tackles, winning challenges, upping our possession rate,” Reale said. “Just knowing that there are two really, really competitive teams, and teams that we know will put up a fight against us and play aggressive.”
The game followed two 3-0 shutout wins against Long Beach State and UC Riverside.
In its first three games, the squad produced ratios of 18 shots to three goals, 23 shots to three goals and 12 shots to one goal, respectively – performances coach Margueritte Aozasa wants to improve on.
This week’s matches mark the squad’s first-ranked opponents of the season, but also ushers familiar faces together again.
Santa Clara is Aozasa’s alma mater, where she played defender/midfielder from 2008 to 2011.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to prepare our team mentally to compete. That’s what Santa Clara is known for. It’s just making the game difficult. They can get combative,” Aozasa said. “They can get kind of a battle of grit. So, next few days, we’ll do whatever we can to recover.”
Wednesday’s matchup will once again reunite former Bruin teammates.
BYU’s Forward Ellie Walbruch spent her freshman season at UCLA before joining the Cougars in 2023. Last season, she scored a goal against her former team to help seal the Bruins’ first loss of the season, knocking them down from the No. 1 spot nationally.
“Going into BYU, again, it’s a tight turnaround Sunday to Wednesday,” Aozasa said. “We probably won’t train too much on the field stuff, but we’ll do whatever we can in the classroom to prepare us tactically.”
The Bruins will kick off against the Broncos on Sunday at home at 2 p.m. and on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at home against the Cougars.
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