The Wildcats scored in both halves to earn a draw against the top team in the country.
Top-ranked UCLA jumped out to a 2-0 lead, lost its lead, lost a chance to regain the lead and then finished in a 2-2 tie in double overtime at Arizona on Sunday afternoon.
110' - That's it! Arizona draws 2-2 with No. 1 UCLA with goals from true freshmen Amanda Porter and Hannah Clifford #BearDown pic.twitter.com/HxAQUfBrss
— Arizona Soccer (@ArizonaSoccer) October 8, 2017
The Bruins (11-0-2, 4-0-1 in the Pac-12) got off to a strong start, with Hailie Mace and Anika Rodriguez giving the Bruins a 2-0 advantage after 28 minutes. Mace scored the game's first goal at 20:37, taking a through ball by Rodriguez and firing far post to beat Arizona goalkeeper Lainey Burdett. The goal was Mace's Pac-12 leading 12th of the season and her sixth in the last four games. Rodriguez netted her fourth goal of the year and second in as many games with a penalty kick at 28:36 after UCLA was fouled in the box.
MORE: Undefeated UCLA remains atop latest United Soccer Coaches poll
Arizona (5-4-3, 2-2-1) chipped away at the lead, however, and came back to tie the game thanks to defensive miscues by the Bruins. An Arizona player went after a too-casual pass back to Bruin goalkeeper Teagan Micah, who was unable to clear it. The ball made its way to Hannah Clifford in front of an open net, and she scored easily to cut UCLA's lead in half at 35:42.
The Wildcats nearly scored again two minutes later. After clearing a Bruin ball off the line, Arizona went on the counterattack. A wide-open Clifford was sent a pass into the box with just Micah to beat. Her shot beat the Bruin goalkeeper, but Bruin defender Kaiya McCullough recovered in enough time to clear it off the line. UCLA got another scare in the final seconds of the half, as Sabrina Enciso's shot hit the crossbar. The Wildcats hit the rebound shot in, but time had already expired.
You can't stop @hailiemace; you can only hope to contain her. She has scored 6 goals in her last 4 games. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/dkneViqUbQ
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) October 8, 2017
Another takeaway led to the tying goal in the second half. The Wildcats pressured the Bruins into a turnover in the 65th minute, and Jada Talley pressed forward to find Amanda Porter in the box. Porter shot to the right corner, beating Micah for the equalizer.
UCLA had a prime opportunity to regain the lead in the 72nd minute after being awarded another penalty kick after Arizona was called for a foul in the box, but Burdette made the save on Mace's penalty kick to keep the score tied. The save was one of eight she had in the game. Micah had one save for UCLA, but it was a big one in the 79th minute on a shot by Jill Aguilera that would have given the Wildcats the lead.
Women's soccer: Trojans escape Arizona with double-overtime victory
The Bruins had some opportunities to win it late in the game but were unable to break through. A shot in the box by Rodriguez went wide in the final 23 seconds of regulation, Burdett made a big stop on a shot by Jessie Fleming in the 102nd minute and another save on a Mace shot just before time expired in the second overtime.
UCLA will next host Utah on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 8pm in the team's annual Paint it Pink match to support Breast Cancer Awareness.
