Last season, the UCLA men’s soccer team played California twice and split the games with a win and a loss. Both games ended in suspense with golden goals breaking the 0-0 deadlock from regulation time.
Friday night at Drake Stadium was no different.
After a grueling 90 minutes of play, the Bruins pulled out a dramatic 1-0 win thanks to a golden goal by senior midfielder Andy Rose in the first minute of overtime.
“I told the guys at the end of (regulation) that what they deserved was a goal,” said coach Jorge Salcedo on UCLA’s performance against Cal.
“I thought our attitude right from the beginning of the overtime was a very good approach. Our mentality was that we wanted to win the game. We didn’t sit back and hope that we would score a goal.”
Considering that Bruins and Golden Bears have won the last nine conference championships, it is not a surprise that the rivalry between the two teams runs deep.
“Against a team like Cal, it’s easy to get motivated,” said Rose. “There is nobody we’d prefer to beat. It’s a great way to kick off the Pac-12 season.”
Flair for the dramatic
As the two powerhouses of the Pac-12, UCLA and Cal are always battling for the upper hand. Both teams refuse to be outdone and their matches against each other reflect this intensity.
The last time a team won by more than one goal was Nov. 4, 2007 when Cal beat UCLA 3-1.
Other than that, including this weekend’s game, out of the past eight matches, seven have ended in one-goal decisions and one ended in a 0-0 tie. Also, out of these past eight games, five have gone to overtime.
“The amount of overtime wins we’ve had over last season and this season, it just shows the determination of the boys,” Rose said. “It’s a credit to the fitness of the guys. We can all go a 90-minute shift really hard and then come back out with determination and character.”
And it’s not just against Cal that the team has had to play extra minutes; four games this season have resulted in overtime, where UCLA is 2-1-1.
30 for 30
After beating Cal Friday night, UCLA had only one full day of rest before having to face Stanford on Sunday.
In efforts to preserve the legs of those who had gone the distance against the Bears, Salcedo started four players not commonly named in the first 11.
Also, junior forward/midfielder Ryan Hollingshead and sophomore midfielder Kelyn Rowe, who have started every game previously, played reduced minutes.
Despite resting many players, the Bruins still cruised to a 2-0 victory while dominating possession.
“You could start any of the 30 guys and have probably the same sort of result,” Rose said. “We train incredibly hard, there’s no difference between the first team and the second team.”
“It’s a team game, it’s not just 11 players. It’s 30 players, and it’s something we’re really proud of.”
The Bruins returned all starters from last year’s team that lost in the quarterfinals and almost the entire roster.
“We’re lucky because we’re one of the most talented teams in the country,” junior defender Matt Wiet said. “Every single spot, if one of us goes down we’ve got another person to come right back in and not drop the level.”
Weekly Accolades
After their impressive performances this weekend, three Bruins were named to various National Teams of the Week.
Rose was named to the College Soccer News’ National Team of the Week, while the defensive efforts of Wiet and sophomore defender Joe Sofia landed them on the roster of Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week.
With reports from Bruin Sports reporter, Daniel Khayat.