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It was supposed to be a road trip that solidified the No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer team’s position atop the Pac-10, and after an impressive 2-0 victory over No. 9 Cal on Friday, it looked like it was going to be exactly that.

But an uninspired 0-0 draw at unranked Stanford on Sunday left a bad taste in the Bruins’ mouths, not to mention a frustrated coach.

“We got dominated,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said. “I was just very disappointed with today’s performance.”

Ellis said several of her players were simply not mentally prepared to face Stanford, and that lack of readiness translated onto the field as the Bruins (15-1-2, 5-0-2 Pac-10) were fortunate to escape the Cardinal with a draw.

UCLA was outshot 13-6, the first time all season the team had fewer shots than its opponent, and the Bruins were outplayed for the first time since their 1-0 loss to No. 1 Penn State.

“The level of interest was a problem,” Ellis said. “Eleven players from their team were highly interested in the game. Seven or eight players on our team were interested.

“I just don’t think that we were mentally ready for the game.”

That’s something the Bruin coach finds particularly problematic, as the team has only two matches remaining before the NCAA Tournament begins. UCLA hosts Arizona and Arizona State this coming weekend.

Sophomore goalkeeper Val Henderson kept her team in Sunday’s match, making three saves, one which Ellis said was truly incredible.

“I was disappointed that we couldn’t pull it out,” Henderson said. “Stanford just came with the attitude that they really wanted to win.”

UCLA had that attitude in its victory over Cal on Friday, as the two top-10 teams entered the match with identical 4-0-1 conference records.

The Bruins were clearly the aggressors in Friday’s match, forcing Cal into an own goal in the 56th minute before sophomore forward Danesha Adams put the game away with a powerful strike in the 84th minute.

With their 5-0-2 conference record, the Bruins still sit atop the Pac-10 and control their own destiny. But a draw is clearly not what the team wanted Sunday.

“I’m disappointed, and I think the team is as well,” Ellis said. “You might expect it early in the season, but now they know there are two games on the weekend and you have to come to play in both of them.”

Ellis said her four defenders – Mary Castelanelli, Jill Oakes, Erin Hardy and Bristyn Davis, along with goalkeeper Henderson – all played exceptionally on Sunday. The offense, however, sputtered.

It was the second time in two weekends that the Bruins have played to a scoreless draw on Sunday. The difference, of course, was that UCLA absolutely dominated Washington State the previous Sunday, suffering an unjust result after hitting the woodwork on three separate occasions.

This Sunday, it was Stanford that controlled the play, leaving the Bruins in an unfamiliar position. They didn’t lose, but they were fortunate to draw, and that’s a result that no one wanted.

“It’s good that this game happened now,” Henderson said. “We realize that we can’t just pick and choose when to play. We have to bring it every single game.”