The UCLA men’s soccer team has been accomplishing goals
throughout the season, and has recently added another to the long
list: conference champions. Prior to the season, UCLA coach Jorge
Salcedo and the Bruins (11-3-3, 6-1-2 Pac-10) made it a team goal
to capture their fourth straight Pac-10 title, an objective they
reached in the Bay Area this weekend with a pair of overtime games.
On Friday, the Bruins went to Palo Alto to take on a struggling
Stanford team, but needed an overtime goal by freshman forward
Maxwell Griffin to put away the Cardinal. That victory gave the
Bruins some cushion before heading to Berkeley, where they needed
either a tie or victory to clinch the Pac-10 conference title.
Although the Bruins were controlling the ball and dominating
possession throughout much of the second half, the match remained
scoreless until Berkeley native Kamani Hill silenced his hometown
crowd with a goal in the 82nd minute, giving the Bruins what seemed
to be their 12th victory of the season. Cal, however, responded
with an Eric Ebert goal in the 88th minute, ending UCLA’s
shutout streak at 749 minutes. The Bruins were then taken into two
scoreless overtime periods, ending the game in a draw. “It
was so disappointing because we had to play 20 extra minutes and we
didn’t get the straight-out win,” Hill said.
Disappointment was the general feeling of most of the Bruins,
including Salcedo, at the end of the game ““ not because of
the title, but because they were unable to finish with a victory.
“We hadn’t given up any goals in several games and we
were defending really well,” Salcedo said. “It was
disappointing to see them score because winning the game outright
would have been a much better feeling.” The goal was just the
second that junior goalkeeper Eric Reed has allowed so far this
season. Consequently, his goals against average increased slightly,
to .26. “It was definitely disappointing, especially at the
time that it came in the match,” Reed said of the goal in
Sunday’s match-up. But the Bruins were happy to clinch their
conference, one of the most competitive in the nation, for the
second consecutive time under the guidance of Salcedo. “It is
very satisfying,” Hill said. “It was one of our goals
from the beginning of the season. Even though we tied, we’re
very happy with winning the Pac-10.” The Bruins hope to
continue defending and shutting out their opponents, as they had
been doing prior to the 1-1 draw at Cal, as they head into the
postseason. “We’re happy that we accomplished one of
our goals of this season, and we look forward to making a good run
in the playoffs,” Salcedo said.
RECORD STILL INTACT: Although Reed lost his
shutout streak, UCLA still has not allowed a goal at home all
season ““ a new Pac-10 record. The Bruins enter postseason
play, which is a single elimination playoff format, hoping to keep
the record intact.