UCLA
Virginia
UCLA's NCAA Tournament Run Ends with 2-1 Defeat Against Virginia
November 29, 2014 | Women's Soccer
Virginia (22-2-0) led 2-0 in the game before UCLA (21-1-2) rallied late. Bruin defender Caprice Dydasco hit an impossible-looking shot from a hard angle, shooting far post from nearly the end line and curving it off the post and into the back of the net at 73:12. The Bruins controlled possession for most of the remainder of the game but could only get off one shot on goal in the final 15 minutes, a Darian Jenkins header that was saved by Virginia goalkeeper Morgan Stearns with one minute to play.
The Cavaliers scored their first goal at 32:19 when Makenzy Doniak's shot was deflected in the box. Emily Sonnett rushed forward for the rebound and one-timed it just past an onrushing UCLA goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.
Another deflection helped Virginia score its second goal. After a steal by Morgan Brian, the Cavaliers sent a cross into the box that was cleared out by a Bruin defender. However, the clearance went straight to Brian at the top of the arc, and she sent a left-footed screamer into the right corner at 70:33 for her 10th goal of the year.
Down two, the Bruins refused to go down without a fight. Not even three minutes later, Dydasco scored her goal to pull to within one. Taylor Smith and Sarah Killion picked up the assists on the goal.
“Giving up that second goal against a team like Virginia, a lot of teams would throw in the towel right there,” said UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell, who took just her second loss in her two years in Westwood. “But our girls, they just fight so hard. Getting that one back, we still had 16 minutes to play, and last year we tied it up with six minutes to play. We always know we can score and have a chance to score. But Virginia defended really well tonight. They double downed really well and got numbers around the ball. We didn't have many shots, and no other teams had kept us to that low of a shot total all year. As creative as we were in the second half, we just weren't dangerous enough.”
UCLA finished with seven shots, four on goal. Virginia also had seven shots, three of which were on goal. The seven shots were a season-low for the Bruins, who had only been held to single-digit shots just one other time this season.
The Bruins set records in an outstanding 2014 campaign, with Rowland breaking NCAA shutout records for both single-season (19) and career (55) shutouts. She also set a new school record for consecutive shutouts (10) and consecutive shutout minutes (969 minutes). The team's 44-game unbeaten streak was a new school record and the sixth-best streak in NCAA history. UCLA's senior class of Ally Courtnall, Abby Dahlkemper, Caprice Dydasco, Sarah Killion, Kylie McCarthy, Sam Mewis, Megan Oyster, Katelyn Rowland and Rosie White finished their careers with a national championship, two Pac-12 titles and a 77-6-11 career record.
