One win vaulted the Bruins nine places in national rankings.
No. 12 UCLA women’s soccer’s (5-3-1, 2-1-0 Big Ten) ascendancy comes less than a week after it upset an undefeated then-No. 5 Ohio State. And come Thursday, the validity of the Bruins’ rise to the second-best ranked team in the Big Ten will be tested when they face Rutgers (2-3-3, 1-2-0) at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Across their first three games of the conference season, the Bruins have conceded just two goals while racking up three of their own against a slate of opponents that included two top-5 teams.
And while UCLA’s Big Ten record is marred by a dropped game to then-No. 5 Michigan State on Sept. 13, the 1-0 loss did not come without its victories. Despite battering the Bruins’ box with 15 corner kicks and eight shots on goal, the Spartans – who entered the game averaging over two goals a game – only connected with the back of the net once, largely thanks to sophomore goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor’s seven saves.
“We’re a team that conceded 10 goals – eight of them are in corners or set pieces,” coach Gof Boyoko said. “We did really well against Michigan State. We lost the game, but I think there were 17 corners that we didn’t concede. … So we can see improvement in certain areas.”
The Bruins played their first three Big Ten games at home, meaning their trip out east will test their conference prowess away from the familiarity of Wallis Annenberg Stadium for the first time all year. In fact, UCLA has not left California all season, with its sole away games against Stanford and Santa Clara coming during a trip to the Bay Area at the end of August.
Competing away from home – and in this case, over 2,000 miles away, as Big Ten travel frequently requires – comes with adjusting to time zone changes and long flights and bus rides. Continuing to hold the standard the Bruins set with their recent win no matter the location remains important, said sophomore forward Leena Powell.
“Consistency is the biggest thing,” Powell said. “Just staying on top of each other, celebrating the little wins – we’re just going to stay consistent to that going into the next game so we have the best mentality and the best energy.”
Powell spearheaded her team’s recent offensive efforts, scoring the sole goal in its upset over Ohio State while footing five of UCLA’s eight shots.
“She’s such a hard worker,” Nakfoor said. “I’m so happy to see her being able to fulfill her dreams on the field. … She was able to go and show what she does every day at practice.”
Defensively, junior defender Paloma Daubert’s contributions to the Bruins’ impenetrable backline against the Buckeyes – who were handed their first shut out of the season – earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Daubert has anchored UCLA’s defense as the only athlete to play all 90 minutes in every game this season.
Her efforts will likely once again prove vital against a Scarlet Knights team with seven players who have scored at least one goal this season. Being exposed to the level of competition the Big Ten boasts – as UCLA was with its most recent back-to-back games against No. 5 teams – only continues to acclimate the team to increasingly competitive situations, Boyoko said.
“So when we get to conference, and hopefully when we get to postseason, we are okay in this environment,” Boyoko said. “Now we can see the more we go, the more comfortable we get. Very different from the first game against BYU.”
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