It has been a decade since an NCAA Division I women's soccer team went on an undefeated run en route to a national title. The last to do so was 2011 national champion Stanford, who went 25-0-1. That was 10 years ago.
And the streak will extend to 11 years after the last remaining undefeated team in 2021 — UCLA — fell during the first round of the NCAA tournament. UC Irvine shocked two-seed UCLA 1-0, crushing the Bruins' championship hopes as well as their undefeated streak. The 1-0 blow came on the Bruins home turf on Nov. 12.
Big West champion UC Irvine took the lead midway through the first half when Alyssa Moore scored on a header to put the Anteaters up 1-0.Overall, UCLA outshot UC Irvine 19-4, including 8-1 in shots on goal. UC Irvine goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa had herself a night, racking up seven saves against the Bruins to ultimately hold on to the lead and blemish UCLA's otherwise perfect season.
The Bruins finished the 2021 campaign 16-1-3.
Here's a brief recap of other long undefeated streaks that came up short in the 2021 season.
Georgetown's 1-0 loss to UConn on Oct. 28 left just one undefeated team remaining, UCLA. The Hoyas followed then-No. 1 Florida State to fall from undefeated status. The Seminoles dropped from the tracker after a 1-0 loss to Duke on Oct. 24 spoiled the Seminoles' 14-0-1 start. FSU had been the top-ranked team in the Coaches' Poll since the preseason.
