Bruins Score In The 79th Minute For The Win
Soccer News: UCLA rallied in the second half to defeat Wake Forest, 2-1, on the road, snapping a two-game losing streak. Taylor Smith and Lauren Kaskie scored the tying and winning goals, respectively.
The Bruins (3-3) started the game with a strong attack, taking four shots in the first nine minutes and five consecutive shots before the Demon Deacons (2-2-2) got their first shot, a Sarah Teegarden header at 12:24 after a free kick. UCLA goalkeeper Cassie Sternbach made a great save on the shot to keep the game scoreless. Sternbach made another save in the 27th minute on a shot by Kate Ravenna and then came up huge on a breakaway opportunity by Sarah Medina in the 30th minute.
Medina, however, got another chance on a breakaway in the 41st minute and capitalized, taking a long through ball by Kahla Seymour and putting it past Sternbach for the game’s first goal at 40:47.
UCLA’s second-half comeback began at 56:11 when Kodi Lavrusky was taken down in the box. Smith took the penalty and easily made the shot past Demon Deacon goalkeeper Lindsay Preston for her second goal of the year and the equalizer.
Just one minute later, the Bruins dodged a huge bullet after Medina made a great run in the box, but her shot went wide. Annie Alvarado also got a good look on the other end a minute after that, but her shot was blocked out of danger by a Wake Forest defender. Hailie Mace had a good chance to break the tie in the 67th minute, but her long-distance shot went just wide. The Bruins survived another close call in the 71st minute when Jenai Davidson had an open shot from close-range, but the Wake Forest senior’s shot went just wide.
The Bruins broke the tie at 79:05 after Amber Munerlyn sent a pass to Kaskie at the top of the 18. Kaskie one-timed the shot into the back of the net for her second goal in as many games and her second career game-winning goal.
Wake Forest outshot the Bruins, 12-11, but the Bruins had a big advantage in corner kicks (8-2). Sternbach made four saves in the game.
UCLA will next face No. 4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday at 1pm ET/10am PT. The match will be streamed on goheels.com.
