The new faces on the UCLA women’s soccer team haven’t wasted any time showing their vast potential and ability to make an immediate positive impact.
The Bruins kicked off their 2005 season in style with a 3-0 victory over Long Beach State at Drake Stadium on Friday and a 4-1 victory at San Diego on Sunday.
“These are two very competitive local teams that we beat,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said. “I’m very pleased with our performance in these first two games.”
Playing against Long Beach State in its opener, the new-look Bruin team was completely dominant. UCLA out-shot the 49ers 20-2.
Three freshmen – Kara Lang, Christina DiMartino and Erin Hardy – started the game. Another three – McCall Zerboni, Blake Zerboni and Caitlyn Mac Kechnie – got significant playing time.
Lang and Mac Kechnie both had assists and McCall Zerboni scored the second goal of the game with a header at the end of the first half. Even more impressive was the fact that out of UCLA’s 20 shots, 12 came from the new players.
“We have a lot of freshmen out here that are willing to play and throw everything out on the line for us,” said sophomore forward Danesha Adams, who opened the Bruins’ scoring with a brilliant one-touch goal off of a centering pass from senior defender Jill Oakes.
In the San Diego game, Lang pulled a hat trick in only her second career college game and DiMartino added a goal as well.
“A lot of the goals I had came from great plays from our team,” Lang said. “We were connecting really well tonight.”
Though this group of freshmen came in as a very polished class, a quick yet demanding preseason of practice has helped to get them acclimated to the team.
“Preseason was tough and intense,” Lang said. “But at the same time, it was extremely rewarding. Everyone has been welcoming and inclusive. It’s going to be a really good season.”
Lang is about as accomplished as any freshman could possibly be. At 15, she was the youngest player in history to start for the Canadian National Team.
Judging by her performance and improvement from the Long Beach State game to the San Diego game, Lang seems to be adjusting to the college game faster than anyone could have expected.
“I was more composed tonight and probably less nervous,” Lang said of her performance in Sunday’s game in comparison to Thursday’s.
In addition to the performances of Lang and the rest of the freshmen, coach Ellis has been extremely impressed with her veteran players.
“The returning players have come back and gotten this team ready to play,” she said. “I’ve been really impressed with their leadership.”
The defensive unit also put up stellar performances. The defense only allowed one shot on goal in both of the games combined, leaving goalkeeper Valerie Henderson without much to do.
For now, the team is very pleased with the way the season has started and hopes to build on their first two games.
“Coming off two games like this, it will definitely give us more confidence for the rest of the year,” Lang said.
The Bruins next play on Friday against Princeton in their first game of the Miami tournament in Miami.