LOS ANGELES — The UC Irvine women’s soccer team recorded arguably the biggest win in program history on Friday night, scuttling UCLA’s national championship dreams in the process with a 1-0 victory in a first-round match of the NCAA tournament at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in Westwood.
Alyssa Moore scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 14th minute. The play started with Lilli Rask setting up Destinee Manzo, whose chip fell to Moore, who then headed it home.
Goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa and the defense did the rest of the work for Big West Conference champion UCI (16-5-0). Hinojosa saved seven shots on target to post the Anteaters’ fifth consecutive shutout (a scoreless streak is now 523 minutes long) and send them into the second round for just the second time in program history.
Previously unbeaten UCLA (16-1-3) was a No. 2 seed in the 64-team bracket, ranked No. 3 in the nation and had beaten UCI, 3-1, in a season opener on Aug. 19 on the same field. UC Irvine picked up its first win over UCLA since the 1995 season, and this is the highest-ranked team UCI has ever defeated – the Anteaters beat a sixth-ranked BYU team in 2014.
“It’s incredible!” UCI head coach Scott Juniper said. “You can see from start to finish; they’re warriors. It doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. I could talk to you for hours about each of their individual journeys, but all of their journeys have brought them to this point. They fight for each other, with each other, fight through mistakes, through difficult moments, and it’s a pleasure to be their coach.”
Both sides had chances early before Moore scored on what was only the third shot of the match.
“I saw the opportunity to go forward and Destinee getting on the end of it, and we practice those kinds of plays all day long at practice,” Moore said of her sixth goal of the season. “I was happy to be there and put my head on it, and so excited to see it go in the goal.”
Juniper, whose team improved to 5-0 in rematches this season, was thrilled with his team’s perfect execution on the scoring play.
“They moved the ball, got it into a good area. Destinee’s execution was very difficult, and it was a well-earned goal,” he said. “Everyone is expecting us to be working for breakaways all night, but a little bit of sustained possession, excellent execution on the cross, and Alyssa, she’s been magic for us.”
Finding themselves behind for just the second time all season, the Bruins stepped up the pressure late. Sunshine Fontes came off the bench and had a shot in the 33rd minute saved by Hinojosa and another blocked in the 39th minute. And in the final minute of the first half, Marley Canales boomed a long shot off the crossbar and Brianne Riley had a shot blocked by a defender.
“We started slow, and they scored a nice goal. They’re a team that won their conference, they’re dangerous,” UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “No. 11 (UCI midfielder Scarlett Camberos) was really crafty and gave us some problems in the first half. You could tell we were a little flat, and in tournament time, anyone can hurt you.”
UCLA switched formations and dominated possession in the second half, outshooting UCI 13-1 in the half and 19-4 overall, but six saves by Hinojosa in the half helped to keep the Bruins at bay.
The Bruins had a great chance in the 57th minute on a shot by Olivia Athens, but an Anteater defender was there to clear the ball for a team save. Less than a minute later, Hinojosa made a nimble, leaping save to deny Madelyn Desiano. In the 75th minute, Canales had a shot that Hinojosa tipped out, and Athens cracked another shot off the crossbar a minute later.
The Bruins’ best chance of the night might have been their last. In the 81st minute, Lexi Wright blasted a shot, but Hinojosa was able to get her fingertips on it to swat it off the post and aside.
“I was ready for anything they shot at me,” Hinojosa said.
As the minutes waned down, the Bruins continued to press for the equalizer, but time ran out on their season.
“In the second half we did enough to win the game,” Cromwell said. “We had a great second half, and that’s what stings even more. Their keeper had a great game, and the crossbar had a great game.”
The UCI back line of Kiera Smeenge, Alex Jaquez, Rask, Maddy Chavez did its share under constant pressure from UCLA, but Hinojosa was the anchor on a night when she posted her season- and career-best mark for saves.
“Glo has been incredible this season. That was the highest-level goalkeeping performance you’re going to see,” Juniper said. “It was incredible.”
The loss snapped a 26-match unbeaten streak for UCLA, a perennial power that had advanced to the Round of 16 or beyond in seven of the previous eight seasons, including two College Cup appearances in the last four seasons (2017 and 2019). The Bruins have reached the semifinals 11 times overall and the title match five times, winning the national championship in 2013.
“I’m just so heartbroken for our seniors, especially,” Cromwell said. “This team has so much talent and so much camaraderie and just love for each other, and you could see it in the second half, just fighting for each other, and the anguish at the end is heartbreaking.”
UP NEXT
UCI next faces Wisconsin. The Badgers (9-5-6) received an at-large berth out of the Big Ten and defeated Butler, 2-1, on Friday night. The location, date, and start time are still to be determined following the results this weekend.
Here's the strike that sparked the upset! Lilli to Destine to Alyssa 💪 #RipEm #STRONGwomen pic.twitter.com/TnqPF94Ve9
— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) November 13, 2021
Glo!! Another great diving save for her season-high 7th!
85' 📣 UCI 1-0 [2] UCLA #TWZ pic.twitter.com/wsWZfe4D0Z
— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) November 13, 2021
From the man himself… on to the next!#RipEm | #STRONGwomen pic.twitter.com/cuMQMHKsVz
— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) November 13, 2021
