The injuries were finally too much for the defending national
champions.
A weakened No. 1 UCLA soccer team lost 2-1 to No. 8 Indiana as
the Bruins failed in their run to become the first UCLA soccer team
to win consecutive national championships.
Injuries to the defense and midfield forced coach Tom Fitzgerald
to start three freshman defenders and another in the midfield.
Though in general the underclassmen played well, the injuries to
Dru Hoshimiya, Tony Lawson, Ty Maurin and Aaron Lopez combined with
the loss of Jordan Harvey to the under-20 U.S. national team
reduced the depth that UCLA relied on all year.
“We didn’t have any choice. We had to pick the guys
that were available to play. And because of the injuries, those
were the most capable guys. I thought the guys who played did very
well,” Fitzgerald said. “I had no bones about starting
freshmen. I’ve been saying all year that I have 28 guys who
can start. Tonight the freshmen who were on the field did very,
very well. I’m proud of them, but tonight it just
wasn’t good enough.”
The match started out very well for the Bruins. Midfielder
Adolfo Gregorio sent a long through ball from UCLA’s side of
the pitch deep into Indiana’s half, where forward Chad
Barrett was there to outrun the defender, collect the pass and
place a shot to the far post, easily beating Indiana goalkeeper Jay
Nolly to make the score 1-0 in the 11th minute.
Indiana quickly countered to equalize in the 15th minute.
Hoosier midfielder John Michael Hayden was on the far left side of
the pitch when he sent a cross into the box that no one could get a
head on and Bruin goalie Zach Wells never saw through the thicket
of players in front of him.
The ball harmlessly rolled into the net to tie the match.
UCLA just missed taking the lead eight minutes later. Gregorio
led a counterattack up the middle of the field and when no Hoosier
player stepped up to defend him, he cracked a shot that deflected
off a Hoosier player and hit the crossbar. The ball shot back
toward the playing field but was cleared by Indiana.
After Gregorio’s shot, there were no serious chances for
either team until the 59th minute. That’s when from 30 yards
out, Indiana midfielder Josh Tudela had some space and blasted a
shot just inches above the crossbar.
This would be an omen of things to come for the Bruins.
The Bruins countered 12 minutes later when defender Brandon
Owens crossed the ball across the face of the goal to forward Matt
Taylor, who leaped but not could get a strong head on the ball. If
Taylor was able to jump a few inches higher and get a solid strike,
it would have been a certain goal due to Nolly being out of
position.
In the 78th minute Indiana took the lead for good. Indiana
forward Jacob Peterson, in a play remarkably similar to
Tudela’s shot, hit a rocket from about 25 yards out. This
shot was a bit more accurate as it hit the crossbar and bounced
back into the field and onto the feet of Hoosier forward Pat Yates,
who calmly put the ball into the back of the net, past the
sprawling Wells.
Luckily for the Hoosiers, coach Jerry Yeagley was contradicted
by the team trainer on when to sub out a cramping Peterson.
“Peterson was cramping. we almost pulled him before he hit
the ball off the crossbar,” Yeagley said. “Our trainer
looked at him, and said he thought he could go a little longer, but
I wanted to get him out of there. That shows what kind of coaches
we are.”
However, UCLA would not go down without a struggle. The Bruins
threw everything they had at the Hoosiers, repeatedly threatening
to equalize and send the game to overtime. Their best chance was
also their last. With about 30 seconds left, an Indiana foul put
the ball on the far right side of the field just outside the
penalty box.
Gregorio crossed the ball on the free kick to the far post where
Lopez, a late sub due to his sprained medial collateral ligament,
was waiting to deliver a diving header that rolled across the face
of the goal, just inches from the goal line. Unluckily for the
Bruins, it rolled across the end line and ended the season for the
Bruins.
“I was standing right in front of it, and the ball just
went right over my head. Aaron (Lopez) won it for us last
year,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately, he couldn’t
get it to go in. It was as close as it could get and was a good
opportunity. But unfortunately it didn’t go in.”
Lopez’s shot also ended nine senior’s careers, a
distinguished group that claimed a national championship in 2002
and many individual honors on the conference and national
levels.
“I feel very bad for them because there is a group of nine
guys who have given their hearts and souls to this program for
four, some of them five years,” Fitzgerald said. “As a
coach I’ve only spent two years with them.
“It’s probably been the best two years of my life. I
told them I’m very proud of them. The rest of the guys get to
do it all again.”