Friday, November 10
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM
UCLA
16-2-1, 10-0-1
0
vs
1
UC Irvine
9-7-6, 3-3-4
1
2
F
UC Irvine
0
1
1
UCLA
0
0
0
The Bruins finish the 2023 season with a 16-2-1 record.
Photo by: UCLA Athletics
Bruins Upset in NCAA First Round
November 10, 2023 | Women's Soccer
LOS ANGELES - No.1 seed UCLA suffered a 1-0 upset at the hands of UC Irvine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after a late goal by the short-handed Anteaters. The loss ends the Bruins' season at 16-2-1.
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The Anteaters (9-7-6) had just two shots in the game but made the most out of their chances. Their first shot was saved on a nice stop by Neeku Purcell in the first half, and the second, a header by Alyssa Moore off an Aislynn Crowder free kick, snuck past Purcell, caromed off the right post and went in for the game-winner at 86:21.
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UCLA had several chances to get on the board early in the game but was denied by the Anteater defense. Forward Lexi Wright was particularly dangerous for the Bruins, with four shots in the first 20 minutes. Wright had one shot saved by Anteater goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa in the 13th minute, another shot blocked in the 15th and a near miss in the box in the 19th minute. With a goal by Wright feeling inevitable, she had another shot go off the left post in the 21st minute following a corner kick.
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The Bruins started the second half aggressively, with Wright getting off an early shot that went just wide 35 seconds into the half. Ally Lemos had a good opportunity in the 61st minute on a free kick, but Hinojosa made a diving save to keep the Bruins off the board. Hinojosa also stopped a shot by Sofia Cook in the 71st minute.
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With the score still tied at 0-0, the Bruins gained a player advantage in the 75th minute when UC Irvine's Chloe Ragon was red-carded after receiving her second caution. But the Bruins were still unable to break through, as the Anteaters tightened their defense. As the game got into the 85th minute, the momentum shifted the Anteaters' way, and they drew back-to-back fouls in a 45-second span, the final one proving to be the back-breaker for the Bruins, setting up Moore's game-winner.
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The Bruins kept fighting for the tie in the final three and a half minutes but had two shots blocked and a free kick sail over the crossbar.
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The result was déjà vu for the Bruins, who also lost to the Anteaters at home 1-0 in the first round in 2021, with Moore scoring the winning goal and Hinojosa recording the shutout. Hinojosa finished the game with five saves on 22 UCLA shots.
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"What I said to the group is, 'Soccer is tough.' I think it's one of the few games that you can have [22] shots and none go in, and they can have one and a half and score. That's what's hard," said UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa. "But that's why we love it too. We've all been on the other side, and you can argue that last year we were on the other side. Obviously would I choose to do it this way? No, but we go on, and what I hope the group knows is that this year, I think we still did something really special in showing how we can play."
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UCLA finished the season as the Pac-12 Champions for the 14th time. The Bruins will enter the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
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The Anteaters (9-7-6) had just two shots in the game but made the most out of their chances. Their first shot was saved on a nice stop by Neeku Purcell in the first half, and the second, a header by Alyssa Moore off an Aislynn Crowder free kick, snuck past Purcell, caromed off the right post and went in for the game-winner at 86:21.
ย
UCLA had several chances to get on the board early in the game but was denied by the Anteater defense. Forward Lexi Wright was particularly dangerous for the Bruins, with four shots in the first 20 minutes. Wright had one shot saved by Anteater goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa in the 13th minute, another shot blocked in the 15th and a near miss in the box in the 19th minute. With a goal by Wright feeling inevitable, she had another shot go off the left post in the 21st minute following a corner kick.
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The Bruins started the second half aggressively, with Wright getting off an early shot that went just wide 35 seconds into the half. Ally Lemos had a good opportunity in the 61st minute on a free kick, but Hinojosa made a diving save to keep the Bruins off the board. Hinojosa also stopped a shot by Sofia Cook in the 71st minute.
ย
With the score still tied at 0-0, the Bruins gained a player advantage in the 75th minute when UC Irvine's Chloe Ragon was red-carded after receiving her second caution. But the Bruins were still unable to break through, as the Anteaters tightened their defense. As the game got into the 85th minute, the momentum shifted the Anteaters' way, and they drew back-to-back fouls in a 45-second span, the final one proving to be the back-breaker for the Bruins, setting up Moore's game-winner.
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The Bruins kept fighting for the tie in the final three and a half minutes but had two shots blocked and a free kick sail over the crossbar.
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The result was déjà vu for the Bruins, who also lost to the Anteaters at home 1-0 in the first round in 2021, with Moore scoring the winning goal and Hinojosa recording the shutout. Hinojosa finished the game with five saves on 22 UCLA shots.
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"What I said to the group is, 'Soccer is tough.' I think it's one of the few games that you can have [22] shots and none go in, and they can have one and a half and score. That's what's hard," said UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa. "But that's why we love it too. We've all been on the other side, and you can argue that last year we were on the other side. Obviously would I choose to do it this way? No, but we go on, and what I hope the group knows is that this year, I think we still did something really special in showing how we can play."
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UCLA finished the season as the Pac-12 Champions for the 14th time. The Bruins will enter the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
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Team Stats
UCI
UCLA
Goals
1
0
Shots
2
22
Shots on Goal
2
5
Saves
5
1
Corners
1
9
Fouls
10
9
Scoring Plays
Alyssa Moore (7)
Assisted By: Aislynn Crowder
GOAL by UCI Moore, Alyssa Assist by Crowder, Aislynn.
86:21
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
7
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
5
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
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