Just a day after the UCLA women’s soccer team saw its season come to an end in the NCAA semifinals, the Bruin men suffered a similar fate.
The road woes continued for the sixth-seeded Bruins, as they were knocked out of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in their quarterfinal match today, losing 2-0 on the road against the No. 3 seed Wake Forest.
“We played a very good game and our guys should be proud of their effort tonight,” UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said after the match. “The game could have gone either way. We had our chances in the first half and the second half, and Wake (Forest) had their chances too. They just did a better job with finishing their chances.”
After an evenly played first half, with neither team being able to get on the board, the Demon Deacon offense opened up in the second half, scoring in the 52nd and 80th minutes.
Although the Bruins came up short, Salcedo made it clear to his players that they should be proud of how they left everything on the field, and that his seniors had a great run.
“The seniors should be proud,” Salcedo said. “They won a couple of Pac-10 championships, made an NCAA final, an Elite Eight. They definitely should be proud of what they achieved here at UCLA.”
The Bruins were held scoreless for the fourth time on the road this season, and end their 2009 season with a record of 12-4-4, all four of their defeats coming away from home.