Surprise Veteran Helps UCLA Women's Soccer Bury CSU Fullerton
The Bruins were in clear control from start to finish, but that didn't show on the scoreboard for most of the match.
It took a late surge from an unlikely veteran to extinguish the Titans' chances of an upset and lift the blue and gold to a multi-goal victory as a result.
No. 1 UCLA women's soccer (6-0-0) held off Cal State Fullerton (3-2-3) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Sunday night, securing the 5-1 win after 90 minutes of action. Early in the second half, though, the top-ranked Bruins were only up 2-1, despite taking three times as many shots and dominating possession from the opening whistle.
That lead grew to two in the 65th minute when freshman midfielder Sofia Cook capitalized on an errant pass and dumped the ball down to senior forward Sunshine Fontes, who one-timed it for a goal. UCLA was in position to cling onto the win heading into the final 10 minutes, but the No. 1 team in the country still had some gas left in the tank to make the victory look even more convincing.
Senior forward Kali Trevithick entered the match in the 81st minute, making her first appearance of the young season. Trevithick missed the entire 2021 campaign and nearly all of the COVID-delayed 2020 season due to knee surgery, and that was after another knee injury cost her over half of her freshman year back in 2019.
Back to full health Sunday night, Trevithick checked in and immediately made her presence known.
After graduate midfielder Maricarmen Reyes had her shot blocked, the ball made its way to freshman forward Bridgett Marin-Valencia in the left corner. Marin-Valencia sent a low cross off her left foot, and Trevithick split two defenders in front of the net to one-time it and make it a 4-1 contest in the 83rd minute.
That marked Trevithick's first goal since the 2019 NCAA tournament again Clemson, and after her teammates huddled around her in celebration, the upperclassman went back on the attack for more.
In the 85th, Reyes sent a through ball Trevithick's way on the right side of the box. A Titan defender got there a fraction of a second earlier and tried to clear it, but the ball ended up ricocheting off a sliding Trevithick, over the leaping keeper and into the back of the net.
Trevithick hadn't played a match in 494 days, yet she came in and immediately doubled her career goal total.
Behind Trevithick's late push to run up the score, the Bruins cruised to a four-goal victory. The score finally matched the rest of the stats that had been piling up in UCLA's favor, considering they attempted 23 shots to Fullerton's seven and got 12 shots on goal compared to Fullerton's two.
The Titans only attempted one corner kick, while the Bruins had 10.
Graduate forward Ally Cook got the scoring started in the 31st minute, while Reyes scored the second in the 42nd. Graduate goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy made a pair of saves in the 24th and 25th minutes, then allowed a goal in the 60th before freshman Neeku Purcell came in to close things out for the final 15 minutes.
Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Mia Ranson may have allowed five goals, but she also made seven saves to limit the Bruins' damage for most of the evening. She could only hold strong for so long, though, and Trevithick helped break the match wide open right before the final whistles sounded.
UCLA will stay at home and host San Diego State on Thursday, with that showdown kicking off at 7 p.m. The matchup will be shown on UCLA Live Stream 2.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @FN_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @FN.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA Olympic sports stories: UCLA Olympic Sports on Sports Illustrated
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSS TURTELTAUB/UCLA ATHLETICS