Leena Powell possesses the ball at Santa ClaraLeena Powell possesses the ball at Santa Clara

Leena Powell (photo by AJ Tinio/Santa Clara Athletics)

Bruins Storm Back to Beat Santa Clara, 3-2

Women's Soccer

Bruins overcome 2-0 halftime deficit to hand Broncos first loss.

Box Score (PDF)
Box Score

Santa Clara, Calif. - No. 17 UCLA scored three goals in the second half to overcome a 2-0 deficit and hand Santa Clara its first loss of the season, 3-2. Sophomore Leena Powell scored the Bruins' first goal, and freshman Molly Hale scored twice in a 95-second span for the tying and go-ahead goals. 

Mistakes cost the Bruins two goals in the first half, but they made a big turnaround in the second half. The Bruins dominated possession after halftime and chipped away at the lead. Powell put the Bruins on the board at 62:18 with a long-distance right-footed rocket over the reach of Santa Clara goalkeeper Ally Harrison. Cate Sarinopoulos and Asa Yamazaki were credited with the assists.

Yamazaki set up UCLA's second goal 12 minutes later at 74:16, sending a ball into the box to Olivia Woodson, who sent a cross to the back post to Hale. Heavily defended, Hale nonetheless headed it past Harrison to tie the game. Hale was not done, however. Less than two minutes later, the freshman pounced on a loose ball outside the box, dribbled it in and then fired far post for her second goal, giving UCLA the lead. 

UCLA (2-2-1) outshot Santa Clara 11-4 in the game and 9-2 in the second half.  

Kennedy Schoennauer put the Broncos (2-1-3) up 1-0 in the 26th minute after a clearance attempt was taken by Reagan Lewis and sent forward to Schoennauer in the box. Schoennauer fired far post to score her sixth goal of the year. The Broncos scored again with just over a minute to play in the half. Jacey Martinez hit Jalana Kimber on a run down the right side, and Kimber crossed to an unmarked Adee Goulden, who scored past Daphne Nakfoor to double the lead. 

Much of UCLA's offensive chances in the first half came from as a result of its defense, with steals leading to goal-scoring opportunities. The Bruins came out firing offensively in the second half, totaling six shots on goal. UCLA outshot Santa Clara 11-4 in the game and 9-2 in the second half. Hale had three shots on goal, with a shot in the box being saved in the 68th minute not long before her brace.  

The Bruins nearly scored twice more off turnovers in the final minutes, but Harrison saved Woodson's shot in the box and then stopped Anna Wilson from shooting.

UCLA will host Pepperdine on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7pm at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The Bruins will conduct  Senior Day festivities before the match, honoring seniors Lynette Bryant, Marli Galdamez, Oruha Hayashi, Ava Priest and Woodson. Tickets are available at uclabruins.com/tickets.