UCLA Women's Soccer Beats Virginia, Punches Ticket to College Cup
It took some extra time to determine a winner, but the Bruins are officially headed to Cary, North Carolina.
No. 1 seed UCLA women's soccer (20-2-1, 9-2 Pac-12) beat No. 3 seed Virginia (16-4-3, 6-2-2 ACC) by a score of 2-1 in the Elite Eight at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Saturday night, extending their season another week as they wound up clinching a spot in the College Cup for the first time since 2019. The victory came in overtime as well, with freshman midfielder Sofia Cook's heroics ultimately providing the final push the Bruins needed to lock up the win.
Cook's game-winner in the 98th minute was set up by senior midfielder Jackie Gilday, who carved through the Cavaliers' defense and nutmegged a defender in the attacking third. The veteran was able to cross the ball into the box, only for it to be headed away by a Virginia defender.
That's when Cook came cruising in to her left, one-timing it with the outside of her right foot and directing the ball straight past the goalkeeper, inside the left post.
UCLA held strong for the rest of overtime, and coach Margueritte Aozasa guided the program to the final four in her very first year leading the staff. While her predecessor – Amanda Cromwell – won the team its first and only national title back in 2013, she ended her tenure with a string of early exits in the NCAA tournament, a trend Aozasa has immediately erased.
The Bruins struck first on Saturday, too, getting on the board nice and early in the 15th minute.
Senior forward Sunshine Fontes did it all herself, starting from the left sideline and splitting defenders while chasing down long touches to make it all the way to the left post. Goalkeeper Cayla White was no match for Fontes' speed and the power of her shot, as her attempt went straight through her gloves and into the back of the net.
Graduate goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy needed to make a pair of saves to keep Virginia scoreless in the first half, and she did just that to guide her team into the break up 1-0.
The Cavaliers' eventual equalizer came in the 75th minute, less than 10 minutes removed from a clutch save by Brzykcy to temporarily preserve the clean sheet.
This time, Virginia had been awarded a corner kick. Midfielder Lia Godfrey's cross came in high, and forward Haley Hopkins got her head on it amid all the traffic. Brzykcy couldn't track it down, and the Cavaliers had tied things up at 1-1.
The Bruins may have had a decent chance to go back ahead in the 82nd, but White turned it away. Brzykcy, meanwhile, had to make saves in the 84th and 90th minutes to send things to overtime.
Neither keeper made a save in the two 15-minute overtime periods, as five of the six shots between the two teams were either blocked or off target entirely.
Virginia had 15 shots to UCLA's nine by the end of the night, but Bryzkcy made five saves to keep the match much lower-scoring. Cook's winner all but ended things, giving the Bruins their second overtime victory in three games – the last one came against UCF on penalty kicks in the Round of 32.
UCLA will next face fellow No. 1 seed Alabama in the national semifinals on Dec. 2. The other semifinal matchup is between No. 1 seed Florida State and No. 2 seed North Carolina, who the Bruins beat 2-1 on the road back in September.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSS TURTELTAUB/UCLA ATHLETICS