Dydasco up for the challenge

Caprice Dydasco was intrigued by the challenge.

UCLA, the school with more NCAA Division I national championships than any other, had a soccer scholarship waiting if Dydasco wanted it.

That scholarship brought with it a pressure to live up to the Bruins’ high standards of winning. It meant a challenge to represent Hawaii on one of college athletics’ biggest stages.

It also came in a rare sport in which the Bruins had never won a national championship.

If all of that wasn’t enough, Dydasco would be part of the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, further increasing expectations.

Instead of shying away from it, Dydasco, a 2011 Kamehameha graduate, dove right in, ready to face it. It’s what she wanted for the next four years.

"I wanted that challenge and I wanted to face that challenge every day," Dydasco recalled. "There were a lot of seniors the year before and our class knew the lineup would be pretty wide open when we came in.

"We were expected to come in and contribute right away and win at the Division I level and I wanted that."

Dydasco started that very first game as a freshman and recorded an assist in a 2-0 win over Cal State Northridge. She started 17 of the 21 matches her freshman year and the Bruins advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing in a shootout.

As a sophomore, Dydasco started all 23 games for the Bruins, who came within one win of the Final Four, losing to Stanford in the quarterfinals after leading 1-0 at halftime.

UCLA had advanced two rounds further in each of her first two seasons.

Doing it again would mean a spot in the 2013 national final.

"We kind of got sick of losing and realized that our class needed to make a change if something was going to change," Dydasco said. "We gained experience and got a little taste of what it took to go further, but needed something more."

With a new coach to start her junior season, Dydasco embarked on the journey to finally get that elusive national championship.

UCLA lost its fifth game of the season, 1-0 to North Carolina, and had just that one defeat when it met North Carolina again in the NCAA quarterfinals.

The teams went into double overtime tied 0-0 before a golden goal by UCLA moved it into the national semifinals.

UCLA survived penalty kicks against Virginia to advance to the final and again went to overtime before beating Florida State to finally win it all.

"I think we really came together and no matter if you’re a starter or a player off the bench that never gets to play, everyone was a part of that team," Dydasco said. "That’s what made our team get to where we were last year."

After her first two seasons, Dydasco always had a loss to motivate her for the next season.

After winning the national title, the Bruins have had to find motivation to get back and do it again.

"That’s been the hardest part," Dydasco said. "Our biggest goal was always to win it and now I think it’s been a challenge for us to show up every game and every day in practice and work on the little things and know we can still get better."

With 10 returning starters, the Bruins are on a roll and have yet to drop a match this season. UCLA is 13-0-2, with its two ties against North Carolina and Arizona State.

Dydasco played her final regular-season home match Friday, assisting on a goal in a 6-0 win over Arizona.

UCLA closes with five consecutive road games, including the finale on Nov. 7 against crosstown rival USC at the L.A. Coliseum.

"They’re making it into a very big game and we’re going to play it inside the Coliseum, so it should be pretty fun."

The NCAA tournament begins on Nov. 14, with the NCAA College Cup set for Dec. 5 and 7 in Boca Raton, Fla.

Dydasco will graduate later in the month and hopes to hear her name called in the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League college draft in January 2015.

"I took 32 credits this summer so I could be done early and graduate," Dydasco said. "Hopefully I get drafted and then get on a team and the season will start in February. If that doesn’t happen I will probably go to (graduate) school."

CAPRICE DYDASCO
School: UCLA
Class: Senior
Height: 5 feet 3
Position: D
|High school: Kamehameha (2011)