{"id":149756,"date":"2022-12-06T13:02:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T13:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ucla-womens-soccer-pulls-off-miracle-comeback-to-take-ncaa-title\/"},"modified":"2022-12-06T13:02:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T13:02:04","slug":"ucla-womens-soccer-pulls-off-miracle-comeback-to-take-ncaa-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ucla-womens-soccer-pulls-off-miracle-comeback-to-take-ncaa-title\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA women’s soccer pulls off miracle comeback to take NCAA title"},"content":{"rendered":"
There’s pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and then there’s what UCLA did.<\/p>\n
Maricarmen Reyes scored a go-ahead goal off a rebound in the 107th minute and top-seeded UCLA rally past North Carolina 3-2 on Monday night to win its second women’s soccer championship in program history.<\/p>\n
UCLA (22-2-1) trailed 2-0 late in the second half before scoring two goals in the final 10 minutes to force overtime. In the second 10-minute overtime, Ally Cook had a close-range shot knocked wide by North Carolina goalkeeper Emmie Allen, but Reyes raced to the ball for a sliding finish from a difficult angle.<\/p>\n
The Bruins became the first women’s soccer program in NCAA history to win the title with a first-year head coach. And coach Margueritte Aozasa’s squad was also the first to come back from two-goals down to win the national title.<\/p>\n
UCLA blitzed the Tar Heels throughout the second half, and scored off a corner kick with just 17 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the team at halftime: ‘We’re going to get our chances and we’re going to score a set piece tonight.’ I didn’t know it would be such a monumental set piece,\u201d Aozasa said. \u201cAnd I do believe, too, that good things happen to good people. And this group especially is just full of special, special people.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCLA made necessary adjustments at halftime. The Bruins took only minutes to reel off a pair of quality transition shots from Sunshine Fontes. And they were able to get back into attacking form after Avery Patterson’s first goal, outshooting North Carolina 11-4 through the end of regulation. Winger Lexi Wright found the back of the net in the 79th minute. With the Heels up 2-1, it seemed that was only enough to make the final minutes a bit more suspenseful.<\/p>\n
But UCLA never let up. And with just 30 seconds left, Ally Lemos served a perfect corner and Reilyn Turner headed it in from the far post.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just that heart and that grit just to work for every single second of the game until that whistle is blown,\u201d Turner said. \u201cWith this team, you can never, ever, ever give up, because we will always come back. And we will have each other’s back and work to the last second of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCLA’s second-half offensive barrage only allowed a few breaks for North Carolina, but the Tar Heels made the most of them. In the 58th minute, they pushed an interception into a counter, got a crosser from Emily Moxley down the right wing, and the Bruins couldn’t keep everyone marked. Patterson got inside her defender for a free header to open the scoring.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels repeated the process in the 74th minute, but with Libby Moore serving the crosser. UCLA was down 2-0 despite having controlled most of the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was great is without any tactical adjustments, the team’s mentality shifted. So you could see, as soon as that second goal happened, we were on the front foot,\u201d Aozasa said. \u201cAnd we were actually going to change systems earlier, but there was like a solid five minutes after the second goal where we actually had a ton of momentum, and we were like, ‘OK, let’s ride this out a little bit.’\u201d<\/p>\n