NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Senior forward McKinley
Tennyson, Jr. dribbles the ball past an Oregon State
defender earlier this month. CSU Fullerton 3 UCLA
2 (OT)
By Jim Guthrie
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA couldn’t stop the recent losing trend, as they blew a
two-goal lead and then surrendered the game-winning goal to Cal
State Fullerton (12-5-1) in overtime.
The game, which ended with a 3-2 score, was decided on a
debatable penalty kick by Duncan Oughton with 1:07 remaining in the
extra time.
The controversy began when UCLA defender Tony Lawson took down
Fullerton’s David Dischner in the penalty box and was awarded
a penalty kick. Despite the Bruin protests, Oughton was given the
kick and capitalized on it by shooting it into the net past UCLA
goalie DJ Countess.
The heartbreaking loss was the fourth consecutive defeat for the
Bruins, who fell to 9-5.
Fullerton’s win was their fourth in their last five
meetings against UCLA. It allowed the Titans to remain at a perfect
7-0 at Titan Stadium this year. Overall, Fullerton moved to
12-4-1.
“To be honest, they played hard,” said head coach
Todd Saldaña. “It sounds cliché, but we are
unfortunate. It was one of our most committed games.”
UCLA took control of the game early, as senior Shaun Tsakiris
dominated the middle. The midfielder, who had missed the
team’s previous game against Oregon State due to an
accumulation of yellow cards, set up freshman defenseman Leonard
Griffin for the first goal of the contest in the 17th minute.
Fourteen minutes later, Tsakiris assisted on another goal. This
time, the beneficiary was senior forward McKinley Tennyson, Jr.,
who netted his 13th goal of the season and put the Bruins up
2-0.
Tsakiris’ second assist was the 30th of his career and
moved him into eighth place on the school’s all-time list.
The spot was previously occupied by Ante Razov, who now plays for
the Chicago Fire in the MLS.
The Bruins’ lead, however, was short-lived.
Oughton, a native of New Zealand, pulled the Titans to within
one, scoring in the 47th minute.
In the 53rd minute, Ricky Melendez tied the game, pounding in a
ball served to him by Oughten.
“We’ve talked a lot about it,” Saldaña
said. “We have given up leads. We tried to go with defensive
lineup. We still attacked but were more committed to
defense.”
The Bruins missed out on many scoring opportunities in the
second half and overtime interval. Their Hermann Trophy candidate,
Tennyson, blew a pair of open net chances, keeping Fullerton in the
game.
Countess had seven saves in the contest, but that was not
enough.
The Bruins will not have a lot of time to contemplate the
problems that have been plaguing them, as they get ready to face
Portland in the Pacific Soccer Classic at Drake Stadium.
However, Saldaña must do something to rally his troops for
the weekend.
“There is not a lot of time to mope. We need to play
clutch games,” Saldaña said. “Offensively we are
not creating enough chances and we need playmaking. The back three
defenders played one of their best games.”