On the final Sunday of the season, USC and UCLA drew 0-0 in Westwood.
The match began relatively quietly, with both defenses showing their skill, but the Trojans did have two corner kick opportunities in the first 10 minutes, neither which posed any real threat.
This period was soon followed by a massive chance for the Bruins, when the Trojan defense collapsed and sophomore forward Bella Winn found herself one-on-one with the keeper before she fired it way over the bar, the first missed chance of many.
Five minutes later in the 19th minute, the Bruins pounced on a quick counter attack, leading to two clear cut chances only for graduate goalkeeper Bella Grust to come up huge and make both saves.
In the 24th minute, the Bruins once again were in behind, but Grust made a wonder save with one hand, keeping the Trojans in the game.
“It’s a pretty big moment for a keeper to have a big save to keep the momentum going and the team going at it,” Grust said.
For the next 15 minutes, there was almost no action besides a claim for a penalty after the Bruins went down in the box. It was waived off by the referee and the lull continued.
At the very end of the half in the 45th minute, the Bruins had another amazing chance, when UCLA freshman forward Leena Powell fired a shot in after a 20-yard run before Grust parried it away.
After the break, the Bruins forced Grust to make two more saves early on, getting her back into the groove of the game.
In the 59th minute, all seemed lost for the Trojans after a colossal error from the defense, with nobody marking the center of the box. With nobody near her, UCLA sophomore forward Kara Croone had all day in the center of the box, but Grust stood her ground and made the save of the year for USC, once again keeping the game square at zero.
For the last half an hour, the Bruins bombarded USC with chances, forcing Grust to stand tall and keeping the game tied.
“I think it’s just committing to the bit and becoming four sided and you know, you hope you make the right decision,” Grust said.
In her final regular season game at USC, Grust showed out, making sure she left her mark on the program. Head coach Jane Alukonis had nothing but positive things to say about her.
“That’s what that senior, fifth year experience will get you,” Alukonis said. “I stay proud of Bella. She’s had a really good year, despite sometimes the circumstances, and each day she just keeps coming and bringing it, trying to lead the team the best that she can.”
Coach Alukonis and her squad will begin an uphill battle after sneaking into the Big Ten tournament as the No. 10 seed, where they will travel to West Lafayette to take on Northwestern in the first round on October 30th.