Two weeks ago, after losing to San Diego State for the first time in over a decade, the UCLA men’s soccer team was looking at a record with more losses than wins.
What a change half a month can bring.
Since that 1-0 loss to San Diego State to start conference play, the Bruins (7-5-2, 3-1-1 Pac-10) have recovered players and made up much needed ground. This weekend, they roared around the Pacific Northwest, knocking down Oregon State (4-8-0,1-3-0 Pac-10) 4-1 on Friday and Washington (6-6-2, 1-3-1 Pac-10) 3-2 on Sunday. With the Aztecs’ loss to the Beavers on Sunday, the Bruins now sit alone atop the Pac-10.
“We’ve got seven wins on the season and we’re first place in the Pac-10,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “Last Sunday (against Cal) was the beginning of our season. We control our own destiny and are looking forward to next weekend.”
Entering the weekend, the Bruins had scored in only six of their 13 games. Senior defender Mike Zaher started the scoring quickly for UCLA against Oregon State, with his 25-yard shot in the 15th minute. The Beavers tied the game before the half, but after that, UCLA went on a rampage. Jason Leopoldo, Maxwell Griffin, and David Estrada each scored and the Bruins’ defense remained staunch, ending the game 4-1. The outcome was not strange to the Beavers, as they have been outscored 20-10 so far this season.
Next up for the Bruins was Washington. Though the Huskies have been decimated by injuries this season, they still have senior Ely Allen at forward. While the Bruins were playing Oregon State, Allen was putting up a hat trick against San Diego State.
“Their (forwards) are dangerous and complement each other,” Salcedo said. “But I don’t feel we broke down too often.”
But the Bruin defense did break twice. While the Bruins focused on defending Allen, who was limited to just two shots, freshman Ellis McLoughlin managed to push a 20-yard shot over UCLA keeper Brian Perk in the 42nd minute to tie the game after UCLA’s Michael Stephens had scored on a penalty kick in the 10th minute.
The second break occurred just after the Bruins scored their second goal on a shot by Chance Myers. Washington’s Raphael Cox took a free kick, which his teammate Derek Crismier headed in to even the score.
“The game went back and forth, but the whole team had that feeling that we were going to score the winning goal,” Salcedo said.
The chance came with 53 seconds left. A flurry of passes left Leopoldo with the ball, who threaded a pass to fellow midfielder Kyle Nakazawa. Nakazawa did exactly what Salcedo expected would happen and put the ball in the net.
“It was a very, very good goal (with) a very good build up,” Salcedo said. “(When) we look at the highlight film at the end of the year, this is probably one of the year’s best goals.”