LOS ANGELES – No. 2 UCLA defeated crosstown rival No. 22 USC in the Pac-12 finale, 4-2, in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,406 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The victory ensured an unbeaten conference record for the Pac-12 champion Bruins, who finished the regular season with a 16-1-1 overall and 10-0-1 Pac-12 record.
UCLA took the early advantage with goals from forwards Lexi Wright and Ally Cook less than two minutes apart. Wright got the scoring started at 17:51. Defender Jayden Perry sent a perfectly-placed long ball over the top to Wright. USC goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson came out to challenge, but Wright beat her to the ball and lofted it into the empty net.
Less than 80 seconds later, Cook used pure strength and determination to break free from a swarm of four USC players and drill a left-footed shot under the Trojan crossbar to increase the Bruin lead to 2-0.
The Trojans (10-4-3, 6-2-3) responded in the 29th minute on a header by Kayla Duran off a corner kick. But the Bruins took one back in the 33rd minute after a Reilyn Turner cross in the 33rd minute resulted in a USC own goal that gave UCLA a comfortable 3-1 lead to end the first half.
USC threatened more aggressively in the second half, totaling seven shots and forcing UCLA goalkeeper Neeku Purcell into two saves, most notably in the 77th minute on a long-distance shot by Simi Awujo that forced Purcell to make a diving save. Four minutes later, USC committed a foul on Turner in the box, awarding the Bruins their 11th penalty kick of the season. Sophomore Bridgette Marin-Valencia made the penalty to increase UCLA's lead to 4-1. USC scored one more in the 88th minute on a near post goal by Simone Jackson, but it was not nearly enough to overtake the Bruins.
"I thought we were good," said UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa. "In the first half we were very good, and I was impressed with the chances we had and the chances we took. I think in the second half we were too conservative, and we kind of sat on the 3-1 lead too comfortably. They were not necessarily pressing our center backs, but we didn't look to play forward, and we kind of invited too much pressure. But we haven't really played a team like this yet, so it's a great opportunity to do that. I'm really happy. It's hard to go undefeated in Pac-12 play; we did that, and we'll take it."
UCLA will begin NCAA Tournament play next week. The NCAA field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 6 at 1pm PT on ncaa.com.
UCLA took the early advantage with goals from forwards Lexi Wright and Ally Cook less than two minutes apart. Wright got the scoring started at 17:51. Defender Jayden Perry sent a perfectly-placed long ball over the top to Wright. USC goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson came out to challenge, but Wright beat her to the ball and lofted it into the empty net.
Less than 80 seconds later, Cook used pure strength and determination to break free from a swarm of four USC players and drill a left-footed shot under the Trojan crossbar to increase the Bruin lead to 2-0.
The Trojans (10-4-3, 6-2-3) responded in the 29th minute on a header by Kayla Duran off a corner kick. But the Bruins took one back in the 33rd minute after a Reilyn Turner cross in the 33rd minute resulted in a USC own goal that gave UCLA a comfortable 3-1 lead to end the first half.
USC threatened more aggressively in the second half, totaling seven shots and forcing UCLA goalkeeper Neeku Purcell into two saves, most notably in the 77th minute on a long-distance shot by Simi Awujo that forced Purcell to make a diving save. Four minutes later, USC committed a foul on Turner in the box, awarding the Bruins their 11th penalty kick of the season. Sophomore Bridgette Marin-Valencia made the penalty to increase UCLA's lead to 4-1. USC scored one more in the 88th minute on a near post goal by Simone Jackson, but it was not nearly enough to overtake the Bruins.
"I thought we were good," said UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa. "In the first half we were very good, and I was impressed with the chances we had and the chances we took. I think in the second half we were too conservative, and we kind of sat on the 3-1 lead too comfortably. They were not necessarily pressing our center backs, but we didn't look to play forward, and we kind of invited too much pressure. But we haven't really played a team like this yet, so it's a great opportunity to do that. I'm really happy. It's hard to go undefeated in Pac-12 play; we did that, and we'll take it."
UCLA will begin NCAA Tournament play next week. The NCAA field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 6 at 1pm PT on ncaa.com.
"It's a teardrop of pure perfection" from Lexi Wright
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) November 4, 2023
??: @Pac12Network
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BIG AL! @ally_cook scores on pure strength and determination. ??
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) November 4, 2023
??: @Pac12Network
??: https://t.co/DjeYFln45C#GoBruins | #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/g8BpfeyzUF