UCLA d. USD 4-0 UCLA d. LMU 3-2 Â
By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor
SAN DIEGO “”mdash; The third time was the charm for the UCLA
men’s soccer team. After losing the last two meetings to the
USD Toreros, including last year’s first round loss at Torero
Stadium and a 3-0 loss earlier in the season, the Bruins were able
to break through in a 4-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
“There was definitely a revenge factor,” sophomore
co-captain Nelson Akwari said. “We were motivated to play and
we came in focused.”
Sophomore forward Matt Taylor scored two goals, including one
that broke the game wide open in the 70th minute with a wicked
volley on a cross from senior midfielder Brandon Kay.
The first, which happened in the 22nd minute, came on a play
that was started by sophomore Dru Hoshimiya, who sent sophomore
Adolfo Gregorio down the right sideline with the ball. Gregorio
crossed it to Taylor, who slotted it home for a 1-0 lead.
The Toreros came out playing well after halftime, but the
Bruin’s defense was able to withstand the pressure and not
allow any good opportunities on goal. Taylor’s goal came
against the grain of play and it just took the air out of the USD
team.
“After the second goal, they just broke down and they knew
that they had to start attacking, leaving them vulnerable in the
back,” Taylor said. “We just broke them down fairly
easily after that. Their confidence just dropped, and it boosted
our team morale.”
The Bruins capitalized on the confusion and added two late
goals. The first came on a penalty kick by junior Ryan Futagaki,
after junior Jimmy Frazelle was taken down in the penalty box.
Junior forward Tim Pierce finished the scoring, making it 4-0
with seven minutes to go on a breakaway on a pass from Frazelle.
The shot bounced in off the right post for his 10th goal of the
season.
The defense was the real difference maker, as it has been all
season long. Sophomore Nelson Akwari made two saves on the
goal-line, and the rest of the defense held the Toreros to only 12
shots ““ none of which really challenged sophomore goalkeeper
Zach Wells.
“Our defense has been strong all year,” head coach
Todd Saldaña said. “Today, give credit to the guys up
further in the field. They made our defenders’ jobs a lot
easier. It really was a team effort defensively.”
The Bruins were given their chance to gain their revenge on
another team that defeated them during the regular season, with a
comeback victory on Friday night against LMU. Down 2-1 with less
than a minute to go, the Bruins earned a corner kick. Sophomore
Alex Yi got a head on it and forward Cliff McKinley ended up
heading it in to tie the game and force overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime, Frazelle intercepted an LMU
pass and sent the ball to a streaking Pierce, who found himself
alone with just goalkeeper Dan Sheridan to beat. Pierce sent the
ball into the left corner of the net for the game-winning goal at
the 108:01mark.
“They just turned over the ball, and it got to Jimmy, who
had fresh legs,” Pierce said. “Luckily, he looked up
and saw that I was wide open.”
Pierce had scored the Bruin’s first goal in the 32nd
minute, following up on a rebound on a shot by Futagaki.
UCLA (12-6-4) moves on to face top-seeded and undefeated SMU
(20-0-0) next week in Dallas.
“We’re confident going up against SMU,” Akwari
said. “We’ve definitely been playing better as the
season went on. SMU is a tough team, but we have the ability to
challenge them.”