Executing on key opportunities often determines the outcome of the pitch.
And in a chance-heavy but goal-lacking bout, the Bruins seized the moment and emerged victorious in their season opener.
No. 8 UCLA women’s soccer defeated Georgia 1-0 at the packed Turner Soccer Complex Thursday on the back of a single second-half goal.
“I know this is August, and it’s just an opening game, but even tonight’s game felt like a playoff game,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa.
The Bulldogs threatened early, registering six shots in the first thirty minutes of play. Freshman forward Mya Townes came closest to giving the Bulldogs the lead, hitting the crossbar in the 27th minute.
Substitute forward Kara Croone gave the squad one of its first chances. The sophomore notched two UCLA shots in the 28th and 31st minutes, using her speed to charge past defenders and get into scoring position, but the Bulldog goalkeeper Hannah Folliard held strong.
“Georgia is an incredibly athletic team, and we needed to counteract that with a little bit of structure,” Aozasa said. “Once we fixed that, then you could see things turn around.”
Going into the halftime break, the teams were deadlocked, and the Bruins’ offensive arsenal had been attacking the net, tying the Bulldogs’ six shots.
UCLA regained control of the tempo at the end of the half – evidenced by its 60% possession clip heading into the break.
The second half started with chances at both ends. Folliard made a one-on-one save to deny freshman forward Leena Powell, and the Bulldogs wasted a one-on-one of their own and a cross flashed across the six-yard box.
Senior forward Lily Boyden brought the ball up the left wing, squeezing between two defenders before slipping a pass through to sophomore forward Bella Winn in the 66th minute. Winn took one touch to her left and finished with a low, driven shot to the near post, giving UCLA the lead. Winn returned to the pitch after suffering a season-ending injury in her second game last year.
“Finally, to get to the point where something clicks gives me a lot of hope moving forward and motivation to see everything that we’ve done as a team in the last year,” Winn said.
UCLA’s defense held out for the clean sheet despite giving up an uncharacteristic 11 shots. New faces anchored the back line, including freshman goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor, 16-year-old freshman centerback Meila Brewer and transfer centerback Jennie Immethun.
Nakfoor dived at full stretch to save a near-post shot that darted towards the top corner in the 81st minute. Down to the final 30 seconds, the Bulldogs had a shooting opportunity when the Bruin goalkeeper was caught out of position, but Immethun made a goal-line save to prevent a tie.
“We were trying to keep the tempo of the game on our side, and it started to get a little chaotic, but I was not leaving there without a win,” said Immethun.
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