UCLA
Washington State
No. 1 UCLA Shuts Out No. 22 Washington State, 1-0
November 01, 2014 | Women's Soccer
The Bruins got all the scoring they needed in the 48th minute when Taylor Smith rolled in a rebounded shot for her sixth goal of the season. Sam Mewis made the play happen by getting a toe on an Annie Alvarado through ball into the box as Washington State goalkeeper Gurveen Clair was charging up to make the stop. The ball squibbed away from Clair, deflected off a Cougar defender and went to Smith, who rolled a shot into the lower right corner of the empty net.
UCLA's defense made some big plays to preserve the shutout, including a save by goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland in the 77th minute, her only save of the day. Rowland had great presence in the box, grabbing crosses and balls into the box. Bruin defenders Abby Dahlkemper, Megan Oyster, Ally Courtnall and Caprice Dydasco were oustanding as well, allowing just one shot on goal and six shots overall. Dydasco had a good defensive stop in the 59th minute, blocking a close-range shot from Kaitlyn Johnson and clearing away another potential shot opportunity on the rebound.
Clair made some big saves for the Cougars (10-3-3, 5-3-1 in the Pac-12) as well, totaling seven saves in the game. She stopped what looked to be sure goals from Kylie McCarthy from close range in the 15th minute and from Smith with a header in the 22nd minute. Additionally, Mewis had a close shot that hit the post during a scramble in the box.
UCLA, whose unbeaten streak now stands at 39 games, will next face Washington in Seattle on Sunday afternoon. A victory would clinch at least a tie for the conference championship as well as the Pac-12's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
