UCLA 's Winning Streak Snapped at 13 After 1-0 Loss at Stanford
Stanford, Calif. - No. 1 UCLA lost its first contest of the season, falling at No. 9 Stanford, 1-0. The Bruins, who had won a school-record 13 games in a row to start the season, allowed a goal just before the half and could not get the equalizer in the second half despite outshooting the Cardinal 12-4 in the half and 17-8 overall.
The loss drops the Bruins to 13-1 overall and into a three-way tie with Stanford and USC for first place in the Pac-12 standings with a 5-1 record in conference play. Stanford improves its overall record to 12-2-1.
UCLA found itself trailing at the half after surrendering a set piece goal at 43:42. Stanford earned a corner kick, which was taken by Allie Montoya and served into the box. The ball took a bounce of Elise Evans, and she turned and fired to the right post for the game's only goal.
The Bruins had a fair amount of opportunities in first half. Ally Cook had a header saved in the 15th minute, Bridgette Marin-Valencia had a pair of shots sail wide in the 27th and 42nd minutes, and Maricarmen Reyes had a shot in front of goal blocked by a Cardinal defender with 15 seconds left in the half.
Lauren Brzycky made two outstanding saves in the 36th minute to keep the game scoreless, coming off her line to save a shot by Abby Greubel and then leaping to stop a shot from distance by Jasmine Aikey just seconds later.
Back-to-back saves by @laurenbrzykcy11 keeps it scoreless!
📺: @Pac12Network
📲: https://t.co/QY9oGeNzFD#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/7vguFutcQ5— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) October 15, 2022
Stanford came out aggressively early in the second half, keeping the Bruins on their heels and outshooting them 4-1 over the first five minutes. The Bruins, though, had the run of play in the final 30 minutes but had nothing to show for it, thanks in large part to the play of Stanford goalkeeper Ryan Campbell. Campbell defended her goal well and made three pivotal saves in the second half, stopping well-struck shots by Reyes in the 69th and 77th minutes, and Ally Lemos in the 82nd minute. The Cardinal defense also came up big, blocking a free kick by Sunshine Fontes in the 73rd minute and a shot in the box by Lexi Wright in the 86th minute. UCLA had one last opportunity in the final seconds when Fontes lofted a ball into the box, but it was cleared out by a Stanford defender after a Bruin and a Cardinal got tangled up.
UCLA will next play at Colorado on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 2pm PT.