Through four NCAA Tournament matches, the UCLA women’s soccer team has not allowed a goal. Posting a fifth straight shutout Friday afternoon against seventh-seeded Princeton will likely depend on whether the Bruins are able to hold senior forward Esmeralda Negron in check. Negron, Princeton’s all-time leading scorer, has tallied 20 goals and 12 assists so far this season. She posted a goal and an assist in the Tigers’ 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Washington last weekend. “She’s a tremendous player,” UCLA coach Jill Ellis said. “We’re going to have our hands full.” In UCLA’s quarterfinal match against Ohio State, Ellis was able to shut down the Buckeyes’ offensive catalyst, attacking midfielder Laura Dickenmann, by having midfielder Jill Oakes shadow her all over the field. That won’t be an option with Negron because she plays up top for the Tigers. Rather than move Oakes out of her position to mark Negron, Ellis said she was content allowing her backline to contend with the multi-talented Princeton attacker. Oakes, too, said she preferred to remain in the midfield, and said she believed her teammates were up to the challenge. “I have full confidence in our backline to take care of whatever is thrown at them,” she said. So far UCLA’s defense has sparkled in the playoffs. Sophomore Mary Castelanelli’s return to the lineup this past month has had a stabilizing effect on the unit, which has not allowed a goal since the second half of the Bruins’ regular-season finale at USC. “Our back four has been playing amazing,” forward Bristyn Davis said. “Each of them putting in the sort of effort they have takes the pressure off our forwards and makes us want to step up even more.”
FIRST TIMERS: Though UCLA is making its third trip to the College Cup in the past five years, Princeton has never advanced this far before. The Tigers (19-2-3) had never gotten past the second round before this season. “Here at Princeton, getting to the Final Four is not something that happens every day,” said coach Julie Shackleford, a close friend and college teammate of Ellis. “It’s that Ivy League philosophy. Our men’s soccer team made it once, but it doesn’t happen very often.”
QUICK KICKS: UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist delivered a motivational speech after practice Tuesday. Last year, Lance Armstrong left a motivational phone message for the team before its Final Four match against North Carolina. ... U.S. Women’s National Team coach April Heinrich, Ellis’ and Shackford’s collegiate coach at The College of William & Mary, is expected to be at Friday’s match. ... UCLA won its only previous meeting with Princeton 2-0 in 2001.