(Photo Courtesy of Percy Anderson/UCLA Athletics)
Maricarmen Reyes' Last-Minute Goal Lifts UCLA Women's Soccer Over Stanford
The Bruins have had their fair share of drama over the past month, and it may have hit its peak with the Cardinal in town.
The clock was creeping towards 90 minutes, and without a goal for either squad, the Bruins were on track to play their sixth overtime match in nine outings.
Just after a throw-in, the ball found its way to senior midfielder Maricarmen Reyes deep in the Cardinal's box. Reyes, who opened the season with goals in back-to-back games, had scored just once in her previous nine appearances and even left her team for a spell.
Reyes broke her scoreless streak and the scoreless tie with four minutes remaining on a volley that brought the crowd of 2,176 to their feet.
No. 5 UCLA women's soccer (14-0-3, 6-0-3 Pac-12) hung on to win 1-0 against rival No. 9 Stanford (12-4-1, 6-2-1) in front of a sold out Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Thursday night. It marks two wins in a row over the Cardinal for the Bruins since the former knocked the latter out of the Women's College Cup semifinals in 2019.
And with the win, UCLA's chances at repeating as conference champions took a major tick upwards.
Freshman defender Quincy McMahon sent her integral throw-in to freshman forward Lexi Wright, who one-timed it into the box as the 86th minute became the 87th. The pass found its way to junior forward Mia Fishel, and after Fishel popped it up and redirected it towards the center, Reyes fired it through traffic into the bottom left corner of the goal.
"I was just ready for that shot," Reyes told Pac-12 Networks after the match. "We needed a goal, the game was about to end. So I'm looking and blessed to be there."
Reyes has now scored four goals on the season, three of which have been game-winners.
Part of the reason Reyes hadn't scored for the Bruins in the month of October entering Thursday was because she spent a few weeks away from UCLA competing for Team Mexico.
"It's great to be back with the Bruins and get this for them," Reyes said.
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy ultimately won the battle on the other side of the pitch, posting her first clean sheet since Sept. 24 and first shutout win since Sept. 19.
UCLA had a string of eight consecutive shutouts after its season opener, but allowed at least one goal in each of its last seven matches heading into Thursday. Brzykcy didn't let that trend continue at home in front of a packed crowd, instead saving all four shots that came her way.
For as perfect as Brzykcy was on the stat sheet, she need a little help from her back line in order to secure the clean sheet.
In the 34th minute, Stanford was putting together its best chance of the first half when they sent a deep pass to the top of the box following a corner kick that had been cleared by UCLA. Brzykcy made it out to the ball and punched it up high, then crawled forward and slapped it away from a Cardinal attacker.
The ball trickled out to a wide open midfielder, Katie Duong, who chipped it towards an open net with Brzykcy 15 yards off the line. Junior defender Kylie Kerr had backtracked into goal, however, and she connected on a leaping header that got the ball back into Brzykcy's arms.
Stanford put together some other scoring opportunities in the 53rd, 55th and 79th minutes as well, only for Brzykcy to shut them down each and every time.
UCLA, on the other hand, did not record a shot on goal until the 67th minute. Reyes nearly gave the Bruins a second half lead in the 74th, but that attempt was ultimately saved.
Reyes more than made up for the missed opportunity when she tucked one in as time winded down, solidifying her return to the lineup and locking in the head-to-head rivalry victory for the Bruins in the process.
UCLA will get back on the field for a Senior Day contest against Cal on Sunday at 2 p.m. If the Bruins can take care of business in that one, the game against USC on Nov. 5 will likely decide the Pac-12 champion.
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