Seattle, WA The UW Women's soccer team continued their season this past Thursday night at Husky soccer stadium under steady rainfall, brought on by the "bomb cyclone" storm that will hit the Seattle area in the coming days, as described by the Seattle times. On top of the weather, the Huskies would have to do battle with the eighth ranked team in the country, the UCLA Bruins. Conference games are never easy, and this would be amplified as UCLA has shot up the ranks to the eight spot at the current time being.
A look at the opponent: UCLA has impressive victories up and down their schedule, including a victory over last years champion, the University of Santa Clara. This would be no easy task for UW, especially since UCLA still had senior GK Lauren Brzykcy in the net. A tough division opponent that was looking to stop the momentum that UW had picked up, coming off of a 4-1 win over Arizona.
Recap of the action: UW would get the match going on the attack early, as senior Karlee Stueckle would fire off a shot at goal that would get deflected, and roll to the keeper Brzykcy. After the early flurry of a UW attack, the Bruins would strike as UCLA's Reilyn Turner would slip past UW's Peyton McGee. Turners shot would go up past UW keeper Olivia Sekany with a tough goal that hit the roof of the goal, giving UCLA the 1-0 advantage in only the 11th minute. Washington's Summer Yates would provide most of the offense for the Dawgs in this game shot wise, getting a few off in the 15th and 17th minutes as she tried to bring her team level with the visiting Bruins. UCLA would draw a penalty kick in the 28th minute off of a hand ball, and Mia Fishel would put away a bottom left goal for UCLA, extending their lead to 2-0. Down by those two goals, UW would stay in the game as Summer Yates would continue to get corner kicks and free kicks, with help from teammate Ruby Hellstrom. There would be several different opportunities, but none found the back of the net for UW until the 74th minute. On a corner kick in the pouring Seattle rain, Olivia Van Der Jagt would get a shot in on one touch, bringing the score to UW 1, UCLA 2. The visiting Bruins would respond instantly when Kaila Novak would cross in a beautiful ball to Mia Fishel for Fishels second goal, giving her a brace for the game and effectively putting this game to rest. The final whistle would blow, with a score of UCLA 3 - 1 UW.
Post-match thoughts: This was a game that was sloppy, both in terms of the field conditions and some of the play on the field. The goals that UCLA scored were all tough, well made shots by UCLA. The first goal being a great shot that sneaks past Sekany and hits the top of the net, the penalty being tough considering it was off of a hand ball, and the third being an excellent cross and head connection. Moving forward through the final four games of the season, UW should look to tighten up their defense, as Fishel snuck past the UW defense for her first goal, and also give Summer Yates more consistent help up front. The rest of this road will not be easy for Washington, facing #5 USC this upcoming Sunday (October 24th). After that game, the following opponents records are 11-4, 8-2-5, and 10-2-3. Oregon State, Oregon, and WSU are the final three teams that UW plays against, and none of them are opponents to scoff at. If the Huskies are able to win out, they will avoid a losing record.
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