To be flexible involves bending but not breaking.
The Bruins may have bent a little when they lost their shutout streak, but they did not break, recording a season-high 24 shots to earn the victory.
No. 10 UCLA women’s soccer (10-3-1, 7-1 Big Ten) defeated Illinois (4-4-6, 1-4-3) 2-1 on Sunday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium to extend their winning streak to six games.
The Bruins got on the scoreboard first via a corner kick for the second consecutive game. Sophomore midfielder Grace Shank played the ball into senior forward Oruha Hayashi, who whipped a shot towards the near post. The Fighting Illini goalkeeper got a hand to the ball but was only able to deflect it off the post and into the goal, surrendering a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.
“Honestly, whenever I see Ru (Hayashi) facing the goal with the ball at her feet, I automatically know it is going in,” said junior defender Sammy Sanchez. “I literally turn around, and I am like, it is over, let’s celebrate.”
Less than five minutes later, however, a ball crossed in by Illinois forward Hedda Ornberg found the feet of forward Emma Yee, who smashed the ball into the net from close range. A VAR review was conducted for a possible handball in the build-up to the goal, but ultimately no foul was awarded, and the score stood.
With this goal, UCLA’s five-game shutout streak was broken – its longest streak since 2024. The starting goalkeeper option for the Bruins, sophomore Daphne Nakfoor, remained unavailable following a knee injury in Thursday’s game against Indiana. Mariangela Medina has since taken her place in net, and Sunday marked the junior’s third appearance of the season.
Heading into the halftime break, UCLA outshot Illinois nine to three, showcasing dominance, even if it was not as efficient in front of goal as it was during their 5-0 win against Indiana on Thursday.
“At the beginning of the season, sometimes we could shoot it, but we didn’t, and then we lost moments to score the goal,” Hayashi said. “But now, everyone is looking forward and trying to shoot it and score.”
The winning goal came from a play nearly identical to the first.
Shank played a short ball out of a corner to Hayashi, who took a touch and buried the shot. However, this time, the ball was rocketed towards the back post, taking a slight deflection off the defender that forced it over the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands and into the top left corner of the net.
Before Thursday’s game, the Bruins had not converted on a single set piece this season, and this improvement was highlighted by coach Gof Boyoko.
“We create a lot of them, so now we need to get something out of it,” Boyoko said. “I’m glad that we won the game, and that is based on set pieces.”
UCLA’s dominance in the shot category was even more pronounced in the second half, coming ahead 15 to one, bringing their total attempts to 24. With 20 or more shots in each of their last four games, the continuing Bruin win streak may be attributed to their ability to pin teams back with a consistent offensive onslaught.
UCLA faced a nerve-wracking ending to the match, as the referee headed to the monitor to review a possible penalty in the 88th minute following a collision inside the box. However, no foul was given, and the Bruins’ lead remained intact. The decision caused an uproar from the Fighting Illini bench, resulting in a yellow card for a member of the coaching staff, the fourth caution produced in the match.
“We used all the goals on Thursday,” Boyoko said. “I wish we put the game to bed a little earlier, but they were relentless.”
The Bruins are back in action at home Friday against No. 13 Washington.
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