All it takes is one shot.
That’s all Cal needed to secure the Pac-10 men’s
soccer title last Sunday.
Although Cal won 4-1, it was the second and go-ahead goal that
turned the tide for the Bears.
Cal (12-4-2, 7-2-0 Pac-10) came into Westwood last Sunday
knowing that if they could beat UCLA (9-5-3. 4-3-2), they would
clinch their first Pac-10 men’s soccer title in school
history.
Cal looked strong from the start, with Javier Ayala-Hil scoring
the first goal of the game only 11 minutes after kickoff. The Bears
were able to fire off 10 shots in the first half alone while
simultaneously stifling the Bruin offense, allowing only four
shots.
However, coming out in the second half, the Bruins were all over
the Bears, finally scoring in the 50th minute from a header by
freshman forward David Estrada after a beautiful cross by defender
Kiel McClung. The momentum was there; UCLA had tied the game and
had put themselves in a position to take the lead.
Then, disaster struck. Ayala-Hil was able to get by McClung and
score another goal less than 10 minutes later. From then on, Cal
recovered the flair they had displayed in the first half, scoring
two more times before game’s end, including another goal by
Ayala-Hil to give him a hat trick for the day.
But no matter what the final score was, from Cal’s second
goal, it was clear that the game was theirs.
“It went downhill from there,” McClung said.
“(That moment) was the swing of the momentum.”
The Bruins had regained all they had lost in the first half,
including the enthusiastic noise from the large Drake Stadium
crowd, but fell back to earth after Cal recovered.
“I was pleased with the way we started (the second half),
and I thought we had the momentum,” coach Jorge Salcedo said.
“The guys showed some great character for a while and then,
unfortunately, we give away a bad goal and the momentum
changed.”
The Bruins, before Sunday, had won the Pac-10 four years
straight. Although the loss on Sunday does hurt their seeding in
the NCAA Tournament, it is not the end of the season by any
means.
The Bruins dropped two places from No. 14 to No. 16 in the
Soccer America ratings.
The NCAA Tournament invites 48 teams and one of those spots
should go to UCLA. At this point, the Bruins are fighting for the
privilege of playing one of the games in Westwood.
The Bruins have been robbed of their momentum for the time
being, but they have a chance to gain it back this coming weekend
against the University of San Diego and San Diego State and go into
the tournament in good form.
“We have to find a way to right the ship and turn it
around,” Salcedo said. “It sets us back this weekend in
the (ratings percentage index). We were seventh in the RPI, which
is a telltale sign of where teams are at the end of the year.
Obviously, I think we’ll drop quite a bit from that. Next
weekend, we’ll need to win a couple games to have an
opportunity to host a game.”
In a game where momentum is everything, UCLA has a shot to get
it back this weekend and go strong into the NCAA Tournament where
anything is possible.