A scoreless tie is rarely a satisfying result, but for the UCLA
men’s soccer team, Sunday’s tie against No. 1 St.
John’s had to seem like a victory.
Despite playing with only ten men after defender Aaron Lopez was
shown the red card in the 62nd minute, the Bruins held the powerful
Red Storm in check. Goaltender Zach Wells anchored a defense that
played brilliantly as the Bruins survived a 17-shot onslaught and
preserved the tie in the second game of the Rutgers Phillips/Adidas
Classic in Piscataway, New Jersey.
“We had our backs against the wall,” said UCLA head
coach Tom Fitzgerald, former head coach of Major League
Soccer’s Columbus Crew.
“But we came back and showed a lot of
character.”
Wells sparkled in the net against the Red Storm (8-1-2), making
a series of diving saves in the second half. In the 68th minute, he
dove to his right, robbing St. John’s forward Chris Corcoran
of the game’s first goal. In the 80th minute, Wells stopped
the Red Storm’s Rich Bradley, preserving the shutout for the
Bruins.
The netminder’s performance was even more impressive in
light of his gaffe the previous night which may cost the Bruins a
victory
On Friday evening, Rutgers junior Josh Gros scored his first
career goal with just over two minutes remaining in the regulation
as the No. 13 Scarlet Knights (3-2-3) forced overtime and
ultimately the eventual 1-1 tie.
“(Wells) felt really bad because Rutgers took a shot and
he gave up the rebound, but (against St. John’s) he was much
more solid.” Fitzgerald said.
Senior forward Tim Pierce had the Bruins’ only goal
against Rutgers, a powerful shot that found the back of the net in
the game’s 60th minute. Pierce, the Pac-10 Conference Player
of the Week last week, leads the team with six goals on the
season
“We expended a lot more energy than we wanted to in our
first game and we thought it would affect us in our second
game,” Tom Fitzgerald said.
If the Bruins (5-1-2) were tired heading into the game against
St. Johns, it did not show on the field.
Wells kept the ball out of the net for the full 110 minutes, and
the Bruins tirelessly chased the Red Storm attackers across the
field despite playing a man down for 48 minutes.
The Bruins’ best chances to score all came early in the
game. In the game’s 29th minute, Pierce made a run through
the Red Storm defense, only to have his shot denied by goalkeeper
Bill Gaudette, one of the top netminders in the nation.
UCLA did not record a shot in either the second half or the
overtime period.
The team had hoped to come out of the weekend with at least one
victory, but they were very happy with the collective effort they
put forth in both games.
“The guys are disappointed that they didn’t get a
win,” Fitzgerald said. “But to go on the road against
two great teams and not take a loss is very good for us.”
UCLA will return home to prepare for a match against Fresno
State on Sunday at Drake Stadium. Fitzgerald was pleased with the
courage the team showed this weekend, but would like to see the
offense put a few more balls in the back of the net during their
upcoming matches.
“We think we’re capable of scoring goals, so we just
have to take them when they come,” Fitzgerald said.
“We’re going to spend the week working on some
combinations in the final third of the field.”