The soccer ball bounced into the center of the New Mexico 18-yard box to Christian Chavez’s right. The keeper stood far to his left; there was nothing but the wide-open net before the freshman forward – a goal scorer’s dream.
By the time Chavez got to the ball, though, there were defenders around him, and his shot went ineffectually to the right of the goal. Window closed, chance wasted.
But when Chavez was given a second opportunity six minutes later, he didn’t whiff, pouncing on a mishandled ball and tapping it in from the top of the box. His 74th-minute goal proved a match-winner, as the No. 1 UCLA Bruins ended an otherwise poor weekend with a 2-1 victory against the New Mexico Lobos.
In their earlier match against American University on Friday, the Bruins trailed for the majority of the game following Stephen Hauschild’s 30th-minute goal. Freshman Abu Danladi’s 77th-minute equalizer forced the match into extra time before the Eagles won it in the seventh minute of extra time, closing the book on UCLA’s first loss of the season.
Chavez’s goal against the Lobos was the highlight of a solid second half for UCLA, one that saw the Bruins wake up from what had been a sleepy first 45 minutes. The Bruin back line was rock solid, heading away ball after ball and closing down any space for the Lobos. Their offense, though it had only one shot on goal in the half (one of only two in the match), kept the pressure on the Lobos, taking some of the burden off the Bruin defense.
It was a far cry from a first half in which UCLA looked shaky both on and off the ball. Though the Bruins opened the scoring against New Mexico, with senior midfielder Leo Stolz coolly slotting a sixth-minute penalty kick home for his second goal of the year, the rest of the first half was dominated by the Lobos. They eventually scored in the 30th minute as forward/midfielder James Rogers slammed a low cross home to knot the score at 1 apiece.
New Mexico enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession in the half, passing the ball and harrying the Bruin back line with a number of tantalizing offensive runs. The Lobos looked especially strong on balls into the 18-yard box, repeatedly forcing key stops from the Bruins.
When the Bruins did have the ball, they did little with it, getting caught on the ball time and time again. The bulk of their attacks involved lobbing aerial balls into the Lobo final third – easy pickings for New Mexico’s defense.
However, the Bruins dispelled any fears by emerging from the break looking like a completely different team. And it is this performance they will look to build upon as they return home for Sept. 12 and 14 matches against Santa Clara and Cal Poly.
Compiled by Anay Dattawadkar, Bruin Sports reporter.