UCLA came into San Diego on Thursday night with two goals: win
its 16th straight game to tie a men’s soccer record and
solidify its No. 1 national ranking.
Surprisingly, the Bruins were not able to accomplish either
objective, as they had to rally from two goals down to tie the
15th-ranked Toreros 2-2.
San Diego, needing a good result to ensure an NCAA tournament
bid, came out looking to puncture UCLA’s seemingly
impenetrable defense.
The Toreros fired two shots in the first six minutes and broke
through in the 25th minute during a scramble in front of net, when
forward Michael Caso scored to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.
Caso’s goal ended UCLA’s shutout streak at six
games.
And San Diego did not let up. Sixteen minutes later, the Toreros
scored again. This time, it was midfielder Scott Burcar, scoring
from the top of the box to give San Diego an improbable 2-0
lead.
“We played a very bad first half, absolutely the worst I
have ever seen,” coach Tom Fitzgerald said.
“It was not due to not taking San Diego seriously. We had
a three-hour drive down and we just came out a little flat,”
he added.
After the second goal by the Toreros, the effects of the long
drive to San Diego seemed to evaporate.
Just 22 seconds after Burcar’s goal, Ryan Valdez answered
for the Bruins, scoring on a shot to the lower left of the goal,
giving the No. 1 team in the nation some life before the first half
ended.
UCLA dominated the action for the rest of the game, but had
trouble getting the equalizer until star freshman Chad Barrett
scored his ninth goal of the year to even the score at two.
“We dominated the second half, it was definitely our game
from halftime on,” Fitzgerald said.
The game went to overtime with an energized Bruin squad looking
to score a golden goal and complete a tremendous comeback.
However, the tie would have to be good enough as their best
chance in overtime ricocheted off the post with a shot from senior
forward John Carson.
Despite the disappointment of a tie to snap their winning
streak, Fitzgerald refused to dwell on the negative.
“We could have lost this game, but our team showed
character in coming back against a good San Diego squad. It’s
a learning experience for our players. We will just take the
positives away from it,” he said.