They did it again.
Stanford came into Drake Stadium last year ranked No. 2 and lost
to UCLA, 2-1. This year, the Cardinal came into Drake Stadium
ranked No. 1, and lost 1-0.
Jimmy Frazelle did it again too.
The senior midfielder ended the intense game when he scored the
only goal of the game, 1:47 into overtime. After the Cardinal was
called for a hand ball violation, Adolfo Gregorio shot a free kick
off the goalkeeper and set up Frazelle, who scored from 18 yards
out.
“When Adolfo was kicking the free kick, I decided to stay
out at the 18-yard line, in case the ball popped out,”
Frazelle said. “It did, I kicked it, and it went
in.”
Frazelle seems to have a knack for being in the right place at
the right time. The Bruins (8-1-2, 3-0 Pac-10), have won four games
this year by a margin of one goal. Frazelle has scored the
game-winning goal in three of those games.
“As the game goes longer, I have been better,”
Frazelle said. “Because of our fitness, we can play better at
the end.”
For Frazelle to be put in a position to score game-winning
goals, one key part of the team must play well ““ defense.
Especially when the defense shut out the nation’s top-scoring
team.
“For some reason, we have the back to shut down their
forwards,” goalkeeper Zach Wells said.
Wells should know. He had the best defense possible, as it
helped him record yet another shutout, his fourth of the
season.
“Realistically, you can’t expect a shutout every
game,” Wells said. “But you do go into every game
looking for a shutout.”
“This was a big win for us, but we still have more
conference games and more games to go in the season,” UCLA
head coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “But this keeps us going in
the right direction.”
One of those conference games was a 2-1 win against No. 13 Cal
on Sunday.
UCLA controlled the tempo in the first half, outshooting Cal
8-4.
Their aggressive play was finally rewarded 20:14 into the first
half as defender Aaron Lopez scored his first goal of the
season.
The goal was started by a free kick just outside of the goal box
by Adolfo Gregorio. Gregorio’s pass was taken by defender
Scot Thompson, who shot hard right at the goalie. Lopez then scored
on the rebound and Bruins were up 1-0.
Nineteen minutes later, Cal scored on a breakaway. Angel
Quintero passed the ball to Carl Acosta, who headed it into the
net.
“They capitalized on our one mistake,” Wells
said.
However, the Bruins responded in the 43rd minute, as Tim
Pierce’s pass to Matt Taylor allowed Taylor to shoot the ball
over the goalie.
“Every Pac-10 game is a struggle,” Taylor said.
“You have to always put the pressure on (the
opponent).”
There were no goals the rest of the match.
The win gave the Bruins sole possession of first place in the
Pac-10 with five conference games to play.
UCLA travels to Corvallis, Oregon for its next game, where the
team will play Oregon State on Friday. The Beavers (10-3, 1-2
Pac-10) defeated Washington 3-2 yesterday for the first time in
school history.