UCLA upsets Duke to advance to NCAA women’s soccer championship game

UCLA wouldn’t beat Duke goalkeeper E.J. Procter in regulation or overtime, but the Bruins got four shots past her in a penalty-kick shootout to upset the Blue Devils and advance to Sunday’s NCAA women’s soccer championship in Orlando, Fla.

The game ended in a scoreless tie after 90 minutes of regulation play and two 10-minute overtimes.

But Zoey Goralski, Julie Hernandez, Sunny Dunphy and Marley Canales each found the back of the net in the shootout for UCLA, which clinched the victory when Kat McDonald missed her attempt for Duke in the fifth round.

UCLA (19-2-3) will play top-ranked Stanford (23-1-0) in the final. The Cardinal advanced with a 2-0 victory over South Carolina in Friday’s first semifinal. Whichever school wins Sunday will become the second Pac-12 school, after USC, to win multiple NCAA titles in women’s soccer. The Trojans won their second championship last December.

The Bruins met Stanford during the regular season with the Cardinal winning 1-0 in late October at UCLA.

UCLA had 12 shots in regulation Friday – including three in the final five minutes — but put just one on goal while Duke tested Bruin keeper Teagan Micah three times. But after dominating early, the Blue Devils had just one shot after the 67th minute.

UCLA won its first women’s soccer title in 2013, two years after Stanford.