One minute and 55 seconds.
That’s how long it took eighth-seeded UCLA to get on the
board in its 3-0 victory over national scoring leader Harvard in
the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Midfielder Michael Stephens connected with fellow midfielder Sal
Zizzo on the right side, who drove down the line and put a shot
into the back of the net for the first of his two goals in the
game.
“I was just trying to get around (the defender) and get
the cross off,” Zizzo said. “But there just kept being
more space, and I was getting closer and closer until I was in
front of the goal.”
While some coaches might relax a little with their team jumping
out to an early lead, UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo had the exact
opposite response.
“Sometimes an early goal is a kiss of death,”
Salcedo said. “You see so many games where a team scores
early and they sit on it. They sit back and end up losing
2-1.”
Sitting back was the last thing the Bruins would do Wednesday
night. On a series of well-manicured passes on a corner kick in the
40th minute, junior Mike Zaher found a cutting Zizzo eight yards
out, who put a shot past goalie Adam Hahn.
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Zizzo’s goals to start and end the first half deflated the
visiting Crimson.
“They scored a minute or two into the game and then right
before halftime, and that was the backbreaker for us,”
Harvard coach John Kerr said. “We know we can come back, but
getting scored upon right before halftime really took the wind out
of our sails.”
The irony of Zizzo having such an explosive offensive night is
that Salcedo had moved him to the right side to match up
defensively on Harvard’s speedy midfielder Mike Fucito.
“Here we are moving him there defensively and he gets two
goals, so go figure,” Salcedo said. “(But I) think the
reason we attacked so well is that we defended so well. We got
numbers around the ball. They pushed guys forward and we won the
ball, and we were very dangerous on the counter.”
Adding greatly to the Bruins’ scoring ability was their
newfound offensive identity, which came at the perfect time in the
season. Since the final game of the regular season, freshman Kyle
Nakazawa has transitioned to forward. He has been effective holding
possession for the Bruins deep in an opponent’s territory,
playing the ball to both the wings and the other forward David
Estrada.
“Because of (Nakazawa’s) ability to get the ball in
tight spaces and spin out, we’re able to get the ball
wide,” Salcedo said. “Tonight was a perfect example.
Harvard tried to get numbers around the middle of the field, but we
had that ability to … play out wide, and now Jason (Leopoldo) and
Sal (Zizzo) are “˜one v. one.'”
Besides helping out others up top, Nakazawa got a goal of his
own. In the 74th minute, he took a cross from freshman Chance Myers
and volleyed it in to put UCLA up 3-0 and seal the victory.
“It’s just a huge relief,” senior defender
Kiel McClung said. “It just feels so good to come out here
and get a good team win.”
The Bruins’ next matchup will be at home against either
Gardner Webb or ninth-seeded Clemson, whose match was rained out
last night. Because of the postponement, UCLA’s next game has
been moved to Sunday at 5 p.m.
With reports from Lauren Sweeney, Bruin Sports
contributor.