This post was updated Nov. 20 at 10:28 p.m.
They say you have to save your luck for a rainy day.
And on the rainiest of days at Wallis Annenberg Stadium – after a start to the season that dampened ambitions around the Bruins – it took until penalty kicks for the team’s luck to run out.
UCLA men’s soccer (8-6-5, 5-3-2 Big Ten) lost to Grand Canyon (14-3-4, 3-1-3, Western Athletic Conference) 0-0 (3-1) in penalties, in a game that started with a drought of chances. As a second-half torrential downpour plastered Wallis Annenberg Stadium in mud, the Bruins failed to convert off the shots that poured in.
The loss that came after both regular time and overtime ended at 0-0 meant that UCLA, fresh off winning the Big Ten tournament, was knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the first round.
“Obviously, it didn’t end how we wanted to,” said sophomore defender Shakir Nixon, reflecting on the season as a whole. “But from where we started off, not getting the results we wanted and being unlucky at times – to a mentality switch later on in the season – as a group, we can be proud of it and just keep moving forward.”
The first half was cagey from coach Ryan Jorden’s side, with the Bruins holding the lion’s share of possession and taking seven shots. However, the Bruins created only one real chance, with junior midfielder Philip Naef notching a header in the 18-yard-box off a cross from graduate student midfielder Konstantinos Georgallides.
Grand Canyon also had only one significant first half chance, with NCAA top scorer Junior Diouf getting in behind senior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi off a counterattack. However, the combination of Nixon sprinting back and Karumamchi’s recovery pace stopped the in-form forward from snapping a shot.
“It’s hard to play a team that sits in that compact of a block for as long as they did,” Jorden said. “Obviously, we had some chances to do it and didn’t quite get on the end of it on a night where it was hard to pass the ball with the tempo, because of the surface in the rain. But that’s not an excuse. We didn’t take a chance in a moment that we had opportunities.”
After halftime, the chances – and the rain – poured in.
Freshman defender Blake Bayless was forced to put in an important block after the Antelopes put together a series of passes around the Bruins’ box. Diouf also snapped a shot wide from a tight angle at the corner of the 6-yard-box after slipping on the wet turf.
Diouf’s pace in behind was a central part of Grand Canyon’s strategy, with Nixon and Bayless doubling up on the forward when defending balls in behind. Jorden called for Naef to stay deep to cover when the Bruins attacked their four corner kicks.
“We know he’s (Diouf) a good player – you just can’t give him time and space,” said graduate student defender Schinieder Mimy. “We just had to be right on him.”
Junior forward Oliver Roche, Georgallides and redshirt sophomore forward Sergi Solans Ormo – fresh off being named as the Big Ten tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and scoring 12 in his last five games – squandered chances after controlling the ball in the Antelopes’ box. Georgallides also forced Grand Canyon goalkeeper Daniel Ibarra to tip the ball over the bar with a dipping 30-yard strike.
Freshman forward Francis Bonsu curled a shot directly at the keeper from inside the box with nine minutes to go, squandering another promising Bruins chance. Diouf, minutes later, forced another block from Bayless.
“I’m just disappointed for our guys because – the way we try to set out and play – we try to entertain. We try to move the ball, we try to play the game in a manner that people want to watch and see,” Jorden said. “We tried to do all the right things tonight.”
But even though the chances poured in, the game was still tied going into overtime.
Solans Ormo flicked a glancing header from six yards out toward the Antelopes’ goal in the 101st minute, forcing a near-goal-line clearance from Grand Canyon. Redshirt junior midfielder Sebastian Rincon also shot wide from the edge of the 18-yard-box with six minutes left to play, with UCLA getting the pick of the overtime chances after Diouf went off injured.
The Bruins also headed a corner kick goalward to force an acrobatic bicycle kick clearance from the Antelopes, and Solans Ormo headed over the bar with two minutes left from a Naef cross, bringing UCLA to a total of 17 shots.
Still, nothing split the teams after 110 minutes.
Jorden called on freshman goalkeeper Ryan Tiltack – who had yet to play in the game and sat on the bench for the prior nine matches – to take the net for the penalty kicks.
Georgallides slotted home his penalty, giving an early advantage to the Bruins. But after Grand Canyon forward Liam Healy hit the left-hand post and Rincon shot it wide, an Antelopes player sent a ball into the top corner of the net to bring things level.
Sophomore forward Artem Vovk – who was put on just for penalties – then saw his kick saved, and Diouf slotted his home after a long run up to give advantage to the visitors. Freshman midfielder Adrian Aguilar chipped his kick over the bar, giving Grand Canyon an opportunity to win the game.
“It’s not an easy thing to do with the pressure of the game on you,” Jorden said. “It’s a cruel way to end soccer games.”
And so, the season ended in heartbreak for the Bruins, with the Antelopes slotting the final penalty past the freshman goalkeeper.
“Our season is done, and this was my last semester in school,” Mimy said. “I’ll miss the guys. I’ll miss the coaching staff, and that all was running through my mind – that I won’t get to play college soccer anymore because that was my last year. It’s definitely sad, but then there’s greater things ahead. I’m sure.”
