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Ready To Repeat: Women's Soccer Season Preview

These ladies have one goal: #112 - Twitter @UCLAWSoccer

It was just over 8 months ago that UCLA's women's soccer team lifted the NCAA championship trophy after beating the Florida State Seminoles. An overtime goal by Kodi Lavrusky secured a 1-0 victory and the 110th NCAA championship for UCLA.

The path to that championship certainly wasn't easy as the Bruins had to defeat three consecutive #1 seeds after being shafted by the NCAA tournament selection committee. However, Coach Cromwell and her squad captured the championship trophy despite the difficult circumstances, and they're aiming to repeat that feat in 2014. While our AD is content to manage expectations and celebrates Sweet Sixteen appearances, the women's soccer team is setting the bar high:

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The Bruins begin their quest for #112 tonight when they open their season against Maryland at Drake Stadium at 7 PM PDT. The match will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and live audio will be available at the official site. The Bruins begin the season as the top-ranked team in the nation and the Pac-12 preseason favorite. Top Drawer's concise preview of the Pac-12 conference can be found here.

The Bruins return all but one of last season's starters, and all but two of the players who featured in the final against the Seminoles. The key loss is midfielder Jenna Richmond. Fortunately the Bruins have depth and experience in midfield, so Coach Cromwell has a number of good options for filling the void left by Richmond's graduation. But this is a team with top-line talent in every area of the pitch. Four Bruins have been named to the 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list: defender Abby Dahlkemper, forward Darian Jenkins, midfielder Sarah Killion, and goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland. Four players have been selected to Soccer America's Preseason Women's Soccer All-America Team: Dahlkemper, Killion, Rowland, and midfielder Sam Mewis. Eight Bruins are ranked in Top Drawer's National Top 100: Dahlkemper at #2, Killion at #3, Mewis at #13, Rowland at #15, Jenkins at #47, forward Taylor Smith at #51, defender Ally Courtnall at #87, and defender Caprice Dydasco at #100. In other words, the Bruins have no shortage of experience and talent, and Coach Cromwell has bolstered her squad with the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class.

Senior Katelyn Rowland returns in goal for the Bruins. Rowland missed the Bruins' season-opening exhibition match against the Aggies last week because she's been on national duty with the U.S. Under-20 National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup this month.The entire defensive starting unit that--together with Rowland--led the nation in goals-against average last season returns. Seniors Courtnall, Dahlkemper, Megan Oyster, and Dydasco are a formidable group with an incredible amount of experience. In midfield, Mewis, Killion and Lauren Kaskie will again play prominent roles, and sophomore Annie Alvarado will likely log substantial minutes as well. Up front, the Bruins return Lavrusky and Rosie White along with Jenkins and Smith who will play centrally. These returning players accounted for 94% of last season's goals, and with another year of experience, there's certainly the expectation that the Bruins can improve on last season's goal total.

It's difficult to predict which underclassmen will step forward to contribute to this season's title run based on a single preseason game. Freshman MacKenzie Cerda is a likely candidate to see minutes in an attacking midfielder role, and freshman Chloe Hemingway may earn playing time as a defensive sub. Freshman Gabrielle Matulich is also likely to play, and her positional versatility gives Coach Cromwell the option of playing her at the back or in midfield.

Finally, Coach Cromwell has been working with the team on different formations during spring games and the preseason. This means that we should expect to see more flexibility from UCLA this season, which can only be a good thing given that teams will be targeting the Bruins this year,

North Carolina is the only team to win back-to-back NCAA championships in women's soccer; Coach Cromwell has the 2014 UCLA women's soccer team well-positioned to become the second team to accomplish that feat.

One goal. #112. Go BRUINS!

Ed. Note: This is also our Women's Soccer Season Opener Open Thread.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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