Having not played a match in almost two weeks, the UCLA
men’s soccer team didn’t know how it would perform once
the playoffs began.
And while they were not atop their game, it didn’t matter,
because the Bruins had a safety net behind them.
Starting in his first collegiate playoff game, sophomore goalie
Eric Reed thwarted Loyola Marymount’s offensive onslaught.
With Reed at the net, the Bruins cruised in the second half to a
3-0 victory Tuesday night in the second round of the NCAA
Tournament at Drake Stadium.
“Coming into the playoffs you have a lot of nerves,”
said Reed, who finished with three saves on the night. “The
first few balls you can get into your hands, it calms your nerves
and it gets you ready to play the rest of the game.
“I did whatever I could to stop the ball from going
in.”
The rust from the 10-day layoff was evident throughout the first
half as the Bruin defense was porous and allowed the Lions to take
seven shots on goal.
And while the scoreboard may have indicated otherwise,
first-year coach Jorge Salcedo thought the game was closely
contested.
“It’s a catch-22 when you get a first round
bye,” Salcedo said. “We were a little bit rusty, a
little bit nervous and a little bit anxious. We didn’t have
great rhythm in the first hour and a half. We were choppy and not
as fluid.”
But the Bruins stemmed the tide and got on the board when they
converted one of their 11 set pieces for a goal. Sophomore forward
Chad Barrett booted an inswinging shot from the corner that found
redshirt sophomore Luke Mehring for the header in the 33rd
minute.
Mehring, who sat out the entire season last year because of an
injury, has contributed in the past, but his goal was symbolic of
the many Bruins that have contributed to the UCLA offense this
season.
“He brings a variety of intangibles as a player,”
Salcedo said. “During his freshman year he scored two or
three goals with his head just from good timing and he showed that.
He made a good run and a good finish.”
Leading 1-0 in the second half, the Bruins began to take full
charge of the match. Barrett once again found an open defender for
his second assist of the game when he lobbed a pass across the goal
to senior forward Mike Enfield. Enfield did the rest as he faked
out LMU goalie Shaun Kalnasy and found the back of the net in the
73rd minute.
“I always try to be a well-rounded player but it just
seems like I am in the right spot and at the right time to give the
ball away, and they’re just finishing it,” Barrett
said. “I’ll get my goals, but I have no problem giving
assists either.”
Less than 10 minutes later junior Ryan Valdez put the game away
off a pass from Enfield. The Bruins’ defense did the rest,
recording its eighth shutout of the season.
“This is the real season right here,” sophomore
Patrick Ianni said. “We worked hard together tonight and just
battled and did what we needed to do ““ staying sharp and
being aware.”
“I have to give LMU credit, they are a physical team. They
challenged us; if we didn’t finish our opportunities in the
first half and they finish theirs, it’s a totally different
game.”
Now the Bruins will head to the Round of 16 and face a St.
John’s team that defeated Boston University 3-1 on Tuesday
night.
“I’m looking forward to 16 teams being left in the
country, and to be one of them is special. We just want to keep
going further and take it one game at a time,” Enfield
said.
And with the tough draw, Reed believes that the Bruins’
fate is in their own hands.
“The only thing that’s going to beat us is any of
the negativity we have in our head,” Reed said. “If we
don’t go all the way it’s because we didn’t have
it inside of us, but I know we do.”