Coach Ryan Jorden’s disappointment was clear.
“At the end of the day, the game is about scoring goals and about not conceding bad ones,” Jorden said. “We did not create enough good chances to score, and we conceded a really ‘bad to concede’ goal because we didn’t work hard enough.”
In its final regular season match, UCLA men’s soccer (6-5-5, 3-4-3, Big Ten) fell in a 1-0 loss against Washington (8-4-5, 4-3-3) in front of a home crowd at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“It was such a special day, and we wanted to put a cherry on top of them, but we weren’t able to,” said senior defender Pietro Grassi. “It’s frustrating because we know that we are the better team – but we got our work today, which is never good when it happens.”
Despite the lingering feelings of defeat, a spark of achievement stuck around Wallis Annenberg Stadium as the Bruins celebrated their senior night. As players stepped forward onto the field with their loved ones during halftime, it added a feeling of accomplishment despite the loss.
Sophomore defender Philip Naef said that as the postseason approaches, each match has a deeper meaning to it.
“A lot of the players here on the team who aren’t seniors wanted to dedicate and fight for the seniors,” Naef said. “Going out there and fighting for them is something that means a lot to us as well because we want to give back to them.”
The first 15 minutes of the affair opened up with a save by sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson, who captured a ball that was destined to hit the bottom right corner of the net shot by Washington midfielder Peter Kingston. That hopeful momentum shifted just three minutes later when a yellow card was given to graduate student defender Youri Senden.
Senden’s yellow card marked the first of the four that the Bruins tallied – all for unsporting.
Yells from the bench echoed throughout the field, with Jorden telling his squad to “get on it!” and to “shift together.”
Despite 12 total shots including six on target, the first half ended with the Bruins unable to put the ball in the back of the Huskies’ net.
“We went to dominate possession, get to places that created goals and scoring opportunities,” Jordan said. “We got some good ones but made bad decisions in the final moments and didn’t create the last action.”
In the second half, the Bruins continued to falter.
More missed chances came to light as senior forward Andre Ochoa targeted the bottom center of the net in the 52nd minute – only for the hands of Washington goalkeeper Jadon Bowton to shut down the gates of opportunity. A bloody nose, arguments from referee calls and a shift of pace added to a tension-filled second half.
At the 77th minute mark, Washington midfielder Zach Ramsey targeted the bottom left of the goal. The shot slipped past Nelson’s gates as the Bruins attempted to clear the ball out of dangerous territory – but their efforts were too late.
Unable to regain control of the ball, the Bruins eventually fell to the Huskies on their home field.
“Everything’s going to move fast,” Naef said. “We got to look forward and learn from our mistakes and get it behind us so we can focus on the next challenge.”
Up next, the Bruins are off to postseason as they make their inaugural debut in the Big Ten tournament.
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