The last time that the Bruins and the Beavers met, it was more than a month ago, and it wasn’t much of a match.
Instead, it can best be described as a single-handed second half demolition: UCLA freshman forward Victor Chavez terrorized the Oregon State defense with three goals in a five-minute span to give the Bruins a 4-1 victory.
The Beavers (6-10, 1-8 Pac-10) did not forget that match. They didn’t forget the 28 shots the No. 12 Bruins (13-4, 7-2 Pac-10) had, the 14 shots on goal and, of course, Chavez’s hat trick.
And on Sunday, that acute memory seemingly triggered one intent: Shoot as many shots before the freshman forward is subbed in. The Bruins still came away victorious, beating the Beavers 3-0.
UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo put it quite concisely: “They were energetic.”
Oregon State tallied five shots within the first 15 minutes, but redshirt junior goalkeeper Brian Rowe wouldn’t relent, saving a couple of those and finishing the half with four saves.
The Beavers would go into halftime having outshot UCLA 10-4, yet both teams remained scoreless.
“It was Senior Day for Oregon State, and they didn’t have much to lose,” Rowe said. “We started off slow in the beginning, but we were able to pick it up at the half and get the ball moving well.”
And the team did come out prepared in the second period, as junior defender Shawn Singh found the back of the net in the 49th minute.
“We talked about playing sharper and playing forward a little bit more quickly,” Salcedo said. “Our guys did a good job in the second half. Shawn’s goal was one of the best goals on the year for us.”
Then in the 63rd minute, with the score at 1-0, just like it had progressed a month ago, Salcedo substituted Victor Chavez in for freshman Zack Foxhoven.
Was it intuition or just a part of the game plan? Salcedo said it was neither and nothing much else.
“Zach was getting a bit tired in the second half, so he went in for Victor Chavez,” he said. “It’s more of the rotation and the timing of the change that created the opportunity for Victor.”
Again, Chavez found the back of the net, though this time, it was just once in that seven-minute span off of a set piece.
The rest of the Bruins weren’t through, though. Sophomore forward Chandler Hoffman scored his second goal of the weekend off of freshman midfielder Kelyn Rowe’s second assist of the game.
Hoffman, who broke his leg in the first preseason match, started in the two games this weekend upon working his way back into the rotation.
“It was hard having to come back from a broken leg, but it’s been something that I’ve had to overcome, and so it was great to feel that I could help the team and contribute at a crucial point in the season,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully, we can keep this momentum as we go forward to the postseason and into the last game.”
After picking up another pair of road victories, the second-place Bruins will play their last game against San Diego State on Saturday, a match that may have Pac-10 championship implications.
With first-place Cal still leading by one game, the Bears have to win against Stanford on Thursday in order to win the conference outright.