This post was updated Sept. 29 at 11:46 p.m.
The Bruins tout the second-best defense in the country.
No. 3 UCLA women’s soccer (8-0-1, 0-0-1 Pac-12) played Oregon (5-0-4, 0-0-1) to a scoreless draw Friday, extending the team’s shutout streak to 741 minutes. With a 0.108 goals-against average, the Bruins trail only Wake Forest in the category, and the squads are the only two in the nation to have conceded fewer than two goals this season.
With the draw in their first Pac-12 contest of the campaign, the Bruins are one game closer to matching their 2014 scoreless run, in which they posted 10 straight shutouts, three of which came in the NCAA tournament.
Coach Amanda Cromwell said the team’s ability to keep Oregon off the scoreboard may have been its most impressive defensive performance of the season.
“We’re doing such a good job of reading the play, being ball winners,” Cromwell said. “We got caught in counterattacks, (so) that’s even more impressive that we got the shutout because we gave up space behind us sometimes because we push so many numbers forward.”
While UCLA has not seen this continued defensive success in the past six seasons, its inability to get on the board against Oregon was also the first time it had been held scoreless since Oct. 19, 2019, a 1-0 defeat to the eventual national champion, Stanford.
Graduate student midfielder Olivia Athens led the huddle between overtime periods as the Bruins continued to rack up shots on goal with the clock winding down.
“This is when championship teams show up,” Athens said. “Someone’s going to make a mistake, and we just want to capitalize on it, but it didn’t happen (Friday).”
With Oregon denying UCLA opportunities through the middle of the pitch, Cromwell adjusted her team’s formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. This included getting freshman forward Lexi Wright and freshman defender Quincy McMahon onto the pitch and on the flanks.
Cromwell said the halftime adjustments were focused on using the width of the field to break down the Ducks’ defense.
“We changed our system a bit so we could be more successful in the wide spaces,” Cromwell said. “It was really about getting numbers-up scenarios in the wide spaces because there was way too much centrally.”
Wright – who played 62 minutes in the second half and overtime periods against the Ducks – said coming back on defense was just as important as providing any chances on offense.
“Everyone works really hard,” Wright said. “Our backline is insane. (Senior goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy) is really good. Everyone working not only offensively but tracking back and working defensively really helped us get the shutout.”
