The UCLA Women's Club Soccer team captured the elusive NIRSA Championship Series Soccer Championship in the finals against James Madison University! Hosted in Phoenix, Arizona from November 19^th-21^st, the Bruins overcame extreme heat, illness, and last-minute midterms to take first in the Women's Open Division. Focusing all of their energy towards one another and their common goal, the Bruins rallied and took decisive victories in nearly all of their matches. Barely missing being crowned NIRSA national champions fresh in their minds from years past, the squad rallied through adversity at each juncture to finally capture the championship that had eluded the squad for so long!
 
UCLA exploded against the competition in pool play, winning against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Pennsylvania by a total of seven goals to none. The Bruins then moved against a defensively solid University of Central Florida team, ending in a scoreless tie, which advanced them into bracket play.
   

    
However, nearly the entire UCLA team caught the stomach bug before the next round of competition, as explained by Bruin Ellie Benitez:
 
"A lot of my teammates were facing heat exhaustion and almost our entire team got really sick after pool play. We had to really keep each other going throughout the tournament and remember what we were competing for. We had come so close in years before and we did not want to get this far and come short again."
 
Regardless of the setbacks, the Bruins pushed through with a decisive 3-0 win over the University of Vermont, but faced a tough challenge from the University of Connecticut. The Bruins found themselves playing catch-up against the Huskies, but stayed determined to win and were able to tie up the contest and send it to extra time. The extra time periods consisted of two, five-minute periods that enforced the "golden goal" rule of whomever scores first would be the winner. In the last minute of extra time, Bruin Freshman, Morgan Wiggin, scored a goal from eighteen yards out which lobbed over the keeper's head for the win and placed UCLA into the championship game!
 
"Morgan really helped us step it up in the semis and her goal was one of the biggest moments of the tourney. That goal got us reenergized and made us believe we could actually win this thing because we were so close" Benitez explained.
 
Matching up against an aggressive defensive team in James Madison University, UCLA struggled to gain rhythm in the first half. With the opposition attacking the UCLA on defense at every angle, the Bruins were forced to regroup and looked to each other for support.
 
"We were all just sick and tired; we were leaning on each other just to stand up at times. But we huddled and reminded each other what we were playing for and just pushed through" Benitez said.
 
The team pep talk must have worked, as UCLA shifted into higher gear in the second half, locking down defensively and taking extra care of the ball on offense. With momentum on their side, the Bruins attacked James Madison University and took a 2-0 victory to seal the win and take the championship!


 
UCLA also received multiple all-tournament awards, with Isis Piccillo taking home Tournament MVP and Nina Chikanov winning Most Outstanding Goalkeeper. Kayla Arjasbi and Fiona Kennedy also racked up All-Tournament Team honors for the Bruins.
 
Benitez offered kind closing words to her teammates:
 
"We drove all this way, sacrificed all this time and we wanted it to be worth it. Thank you to the captains for the motivation!"
 

GO BRUINS!