2017 UCLA

Here is the goal by Ashley Sanchez.

Nifty footwork for this @ashleynsanchezz goal to give @UCLAWSoccer the lead over @CalWSoc!

Watch: https://t.co/YfMNDWtSGW pic.twitter.com/K3AfLQhVQG

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 29, 2017

 

Here is the 30 yard spot kick by Jessie Fleming and the great save by Emily Boyd.

👀 🙌@emilynboyd1 with this stellar save on a Jessie Fleming free kick! 💪⚽️

Second half about to start on @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/NHCQ3fMjsh

— Cal Women's Soccer (@CalWSoc) October 29, 2017

 

Finally got a chance to watch the Stanford game. No goal in my opinion. The base of the ball is just inside of the line, but the full diameter of the ball is greater than that of the base unless the ball is completely deflated. From directly overhead the penumbra of the ball would have overlapped the goal line and the line would not be completely visible overhead. Good no call even if it was an accident. That said the wasted chances may not be forgiven against the eastern power conferences.

 

Wow, I looked at the video. Didn't I see a clear handball by Ashley?

 

Unsung hero was Claire Winters coming in and solidifying the defensive midfield. Mace dropped into the midfield quite a bit later in the 2nd half and was effective.

 

Cromwell gave credit to Kaiya and Karina for playing their best for this and the Stanford game. And that Micah is also playing well.

http://dailybruin.com/2017/10/30/no-6-ucla-womens-soccer-takes-down-no-16-california-in-tight-game/

 

... assuming the sun to be at infinity, so that rays of sunlight are essentially parallel

 

In fairness to Kaiya McCullough, I was unaware of her previous lower leg issues, hampering her speed, notably in the Washington State loss. My apologies to her for the criticism.

 

I was curious if this would be the case when they released the roster. That really sucks. I have been looking forward to this game for months. Why do they schedule these friendlies in the middle of crunch time? Rediculous

 

I think it's more of a question we should be asking Team Canada's Management. Rebecca Quinn will also miss the acc semi/final and first round of ncaa because she was named to the canadian roster.....yet they left off at least 4-5 professionals?! (Sophie Schmidt, K Buchanon, A Lawrence) Why? Their professionals that should be playing these games. They shouldn't be yanking college players out during the heart of their season/playoffs! So dumb.

 

This is not a FIFA window, so the European soccer clubs are not obligated to release the players. This explains why Schmidt, Lawrence, etc... are not on the roster.

 

Indeed, I believe that a penumbra assumes a "perfect shadow" as you well describe

 

I fully support the notion that national teams in CONCACAF should carefully plan their friendlies around NCAA windows


FIFA should do it for WWC-20s, too

 

Ashley Sanchez .... Bidtches.

Game, Set, Match.

 

Yay we won! Too sick to go to game. Too bad it would have been a great game to see live!

 

UCLA would need overtime to beat USC 3-2. Goals by Kaiya McCullough (1st of her career), Annika Rodriguez (5th). Ashley Sanchez (6th) for the game winner.

UCLA would celebrate their senior night today. Gabrielle Matulich, Mackenzie Cerda, Chloe Hemmingway. Claire Winter and Zoey Goralski and in goal senior keeper Siri Ervik would start for UCLA. Hailie Mace would start up top. Olivia Athens in the midfield and Ashley Sanchez would start as the position 10 midfielder for UCLA. Kaiya McCullough, Karina Rodriguez would fill out the back line.

Jessie Fleming would be called away on a friendly against the US women's national team where they will be playing 2 game against Team Canada. So Coach Cromwell moved Ashley Sanchez to the creative midfielder role for the first half. Annika Rodriguez would take over in the second half.

USC would come out generating more possession and would have the better run of play for the first 15-20 minutes of the game. USC would score in the 11th minute from a counter and the cross would come in and Nicole Molen would score her first of 2 goals this game. UCLA would slowly work themselves back into the game trying to build through possession. UCLA in fact looked much better on the ball then USC. USC were more direct with their play, would use long balls to push the ball up and connected less passes with each other.

Sanchez for her part tried her dribble magic in the midfield, but teams have caught on to her and there would normally be 2 players always marking her when she had the ball. It wasn't until Kaiya McCullough decided to go direct with the ball that UCLA generated their first dangerous chance. McCullough charged forward and the USC defense sunk in and allowed her space. Probably thinking that she would pass off, but McCullough continued into the box and the USC defense didn't close the shooting lane in time and allowed McCullough a long range shot that went far post. Kaylie Collins the USC keeper tried to make a stretch save but it was just out of her reach.

Then later in the half, UCLA would yet again be burnt on their corner kick defense. UCLA would give up a corner kick and the kick would come in. Siri Ervik would miss the punch out but the ball would bounce on the line and in the box. There would be 3 UCLA defenders standing there trying to knock the ball out but they would fail to do so and Nicole Molen would pot the loose ball in for her second goal of the game. And as Cromwell would comment in an interview, she wasn't happy with the defense on that goal.

The second half would roll around and Annika Rodriguez would sub in and take over the center midfield from Sanchez. And Rodriguez would have a good game although she still does the "take the ball and charge forward with it to know where". For a good chunk of the second half, UCLA would dominate the possession but scoring chances were few. Rodriguez would actually try to force several runs. She had a 60 yard run from the side lines, from her own box to all the way to the other box. She charged forward trying to beat 3 defenders but couldn't turn the corner or send a cross in. Its these plays that frustrate me about Rodriguez because she isn't thinking like a midfielder. Where you want to keep your head up and look for people making runs. She plays like a forward.

Other then those plays, Rodriguez would then start making positive plays for her team. She forced a very bad turn over by USC, who sent a forward pass in front of their own box and Rodriguez would intercept it and then go 1v1 on the USC keeper and score the game tying goal. Heady, smart play from Rodriguez. In fact UCLA should of gotten a penalty kick late in the game when Collins the USC keeper came off her line on a corner kick and knocked Viviana Villacorta to the ground before she touched the ball. A clear foul that wasn't given.

The game would then need to go into overtime with UCLA on the front foot. By this time USC looked to be playing with 10 players behind the ball trying to get the draw and only countering if they had a chance. UCLA were the attacking side and in overtime. UCLA would launch an attack with Rodriguez being the facilitator. She actually held the ball up and drew a defender to her and then passed to an open Ashley Sanchez who would score on the open goal.

Over all, I thought UCLA were ok in this match. USC compared to UCLA did not have the technical players to match them. Once UCLA started building out from the back, they dominated possession of the ball. The problem though is the lack of good scoring chances. They struggled to create good chances on goal. The Kaiya McCullough goal was the best chance in the first half. It took to about the 60th minute before UCLA had any decent looks on goal in the second half. These long pauses of attacks on goal is a problem for UCLA. If you really want to boil it down, It took a goal from a defender that went direct and a bad turn over by USC for UCLA to force overtime. To me there are still problems with the offense for UCLA.

 

For Anika Rodriguez, that was the game of her career.

 

This was a fantastic game ( with a bummer result for my side). 12000 people to watch a women's college game and tv did it no justice. What a great experience for all of these young ladies. UCLA got the deserved result with great hi pressure in the 2nd half and OT Winning goal was defllected off a defender and could have marginally been deemed OG but UCLA deserved it

 

UCLA #2 seed host San Diego State in start of NCAA tournament. Thoughts on how far Bruins could go?