UCLA Women's Soccer Beats Arizona State, Clinches Best Start Ever
Coach Margueritte Aozasa and the Bruins’ season-opening winning streak has reached a record length, with early goals setting the tone for a victory over the Sun Devils.
Junior forward Reilyn Turner half-volleyed an effort from a corner and the ball screamed past the goalkeeper to give No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer (12-0-0, 4-0-0 Pac-12) its first lead in the second minute. Her seventh goal of the season was all the Bruins needed to defeat Arizona State (6-2-2, 2-2-0 Pac-12) on Thursday night, but UCLA still scored two goals in each half to finish off the Sun Devils 4-0.
Aozasa and the Bruins’ 12-win perfect record to begin the campaign is not only the strongest start for a coach at UCLA, but also the best run to launch any season in program history.
The Bruins outshot their Pac-12 foes 20-5 under the Wallis Annenberg Stadium lights, even occasionally attempting long-range efforts to try and catch the Sun Devils off guard.
Continued pressure from UCLA’s forwards kept Arizona State on its back foot and allowed the Bruins to strike again, just a few minutes after Turner scored.
After clever passing from senior forward Sunshine Fontes allowed sophomore forward Lexi Wright to get into space on the left wing, the Carlsbad, California, native crossed a ball into the box, which graduate forward Ally Cook got her foot on. The Oregon transfer’s strike deflected off of Sun Devil defenders and into the net to give UCLA a 2-0 advantage in the sixth minute.
The Bruins added to the scoreline with two milestone goals in the second half.
In the 50th minute, freshman midfielder Ally Lemos received a pass from senior defender Brianne Riley just outside the center of the penalty box. The US-youth international dribbled to her left, became unmarked and fired a curling effort into the top-left corner of the net to put UCLA ahead 3-0.
The goal was the first of Lemos’ career, but she was not the only Bruin to achieve her first on Thursday night.
Graduate defender Madelyn Desiano – who was injured the first two years of her UCLA career – had yet to have scored for the Bruins across 39 career appearances.
That changed against the Sun Devils on Thursday night, though. Wright passed to Desiano, who arrived behind her on the left-hand side of the box. The fifth-year Bruin lofted a shot past the Arizona State goalkeeper and into the bottom of the net, scoring her first collegiate goal.
Her 71st-minute goal caused UCLA’s bench to erupt in cheers, capping off a 4-0 victory and another clean sheet for the Bruins – their seventh of the season.
UCLA will return to action on Sunday to host Arizona at 2 p.m. The contest will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS