The downpour of steady rain Friday night hardly dampened the
men’s soccer team’s 13-game winning streak.
The No. 1 Bruins defeated Rutgers 2-0 in conditions UCLA hardly
ever has to face.
Despite the slippery field and unusual weather conditions
““ which could have been an advantage for the Scarlet Knights
(9-5-3, 4-3-3 Big East), who play in the rain often ““ the
Bruins added a ninth shutout to this year’s record.
“The rain didn’t affect our game plan,” coach
Tom Fitzgerald said. “We were unlucky not to score more
goals.”
The Bruins (15-1, 7-0 Pac-10) came out on fire but missed a
handful of goal opportunities, and in the end outshot Rutgers
16-13. The early scoring attempts of freshman defender Brandon
Owens and senior forward Matt Taylor in the third and seventh
minutes reverberated off the goalposts.
The Bruins didn’t score until the 41st minute, when junior
midfielder Mike Enfield weaved through Rutgers traffic and shot
from inside the box to make the score 1-0.
Freshman forward Chad Barrett notched the insurance goal midway
through the second half. After taking a pass from Owens, Barrett
ran toward the Rutgers’ goal, drawing keeper Scott Conway out
of the net. After maneuvering around Conway, Barrett found the back
of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
The Scarlet Knights’ offense was not passive, however. In
the 31st minute, Rutgers midfielder Chris Karcz forced Bruin goalie
Zach Wells to make a diving save. Three minutes later, through
heavy traffic in the Bruin box, UCLA senior midfielder Ty Maurin
kicked another shot from Karcz to safety. Wells ended the night
with eight saves.
“I thought we played a good match overall but
couldn’t pull out the win,” Rutgers coach Bob Reasso
said. “UCLA controlled play in the first half. We made two
mistakes that really cost us.”
As is his habit, Fitzgerald played 19 of UCLA’s 28-man
roster to keep his team’s energy high.
Said Fitzgerald, “They set up and played pretty much the
way we thought they would. We tried to take advantage of
that.”
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The Bruins return to the field Nov. 7 when they play host to
Washington (10-3-2, 3-3-1).
The Huskies are coming off a weekend during which they beat
last-place Stanford and lost to Cal.