The 49er women’s soccer team dropped its first match of the season against No. 7 UCLA with a 4-0 loss Sunday at George Allen Field.
LBSU (1-1-0) gave up three goals in the second half against the Bruins (1-1-1), who ran riot including forward Sydney Leroux, who scored twice.
Leroux got her first goal in the 22nd minute with a header on a cross from teammate Summer Williams. She scored her second goal a minute after the break when she went one-on-one with 49er goalie Emily Kingsborough and beat her for the 2-0 lead.
Bruin forward Lauren Cheney scored the third goal after taking up a rebound shot in the goal area. With two minutes remaining in the game, Liz Zadro scored with a shot to the upper-right corner after a cross from teammate Lauren Wilmoth.
LBSU was not able to settle on the field and gain possession for most of the game due to fierce pressure, and was out shot 19-7 by the Bruins. Also, the offense had few opportunities to attack and the defense had its work cut out with LBSU making 10 saves and UCLA only having to make three.
LBSU’s head coach Mauricio Ingrassia was disappointed with the team’s possession work, shape and concentration in the game.
“We didn’t give it our best effort. We were out to lunch and paid for it,” Ingrassia said. “We weren’t good in the first half with the ball. We gave the ball away too much.”
The 49ers’ best shot for a goal came five minutes before the first half ended. Defender Jenn Brooks stole the ball and centered it to forward Whitney Velez, who set up a shot for midfielder Karina Camacho. The attempt was blocked by Bruin goalkeeper Chante’ Sandiford.
However, UCLA had a great chance to add to the scoreboard in the 64th minute when forward Kara Lang took a 30-yard free kick and bolted the ball against the crossbar.
The 49ers’ inconsistency with ball possession and passing continued in the second half. They obtained their first corner kick in the 75th minute, and almost scored in a scramble with the Bruin defense before they cleared the ball out five yards from the line.
“We were only down one at the half, and then we came in and boom! Two goals change everything,” Ingrassia said
However, he acknowledged that UCLA plays at a great level and has great players including Leroux, who played in the Under-20 World Championships for the U.S. National Team, and Cheney, who is an Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. Senior National Team.
“We’ll take it as a learning experience,” Camacho said. “We got to see where we are at, what we need to work on and where we can go from here.”
The 49ers will go on a four-game road trip that begins Sept. 4 when they face Kansas. Matches against No. 11 Missouri, Harvard and No. 8 Boston College will round out the trip.