There were four minutes left in the match, and the UCLA men’s soccer team was trailing Cal by two goals. Not exactly an optimal situation for the nation’s No. 2 team.
Forced into desperation mode, the Bruins came up huge. In the 86th minute, junior forward Larry Ndjock pounced on a cross from the right, heading the ball into the goal to pull UCLA within one. Then, with 30 seconds separating the Bruins from defeat, junior fullback Javan Torre smashed a ball into the corner of the net to knot the score and force the match into overtime.
But with emotions running high and the Bruins (6-3-3, 1-1-1 Pac-12) smelling a comeback victory, it was the No. 22 Golden Bears (8-3, 2-2) who delivered the knockout blow, their overtime winner downing the Bruins 3-2. It was the start to their Bay Area road trip, one that ended with a 1-1 draw against No. 15 Stanford two days later.
“We had more possession of the ball, more shots, more shots on goal, forced their keeper to make more saves,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo after the match. “So I thought we deserved more, given how we played.”
Indeed, for much of the match, the Bruins battered away at the Bear defense, to no avail. They outshot Cal 14-9, with eight of those shots on target, but Cal held strong.
Meanwhile on defense, two lapses in concentration opened the way for Cal to snatch a lead. In the 41st minute, Cal’s Stefano Bonomo headed home off a set piece to put the Bears up by a goal going into halftime. Then late in the second half, with UCLA pressing forward more aggressively, Cal doubled its lead with a 79th-minute counterattack.
“I think we weren’t focused in both situations (when we conceded),” Ndjock said. “We could have defended them (both) much better.”
Two days later, the UCLA defense rebounded early in its match against Stanford, holding strong and snuffing out numerous chances from the Cardinal (7-2-1, 2-1-1). On the other side of the ball, however, the offense had some difficulty knitting together the defense and the frontline, giving the ball away several times in the midfield.
The team emerged from halftime looking reenergized, pressing forward aggressively in what became an intense back-and-forth affair. Favoring the left side, the Bruins showed an improved ability to piece together attacks in the midfield. And it paid off – as they capitalized in the 49th minute, senior defensive midfielder Aaron Simmons smashing a diagonal ball from the left into the roof of the net.
Unfortunately for UCLA, the lead wouldn’t hold, as Stanford’s Zach Batteer’s screamer from nine yards out-beat UCLA redshirt senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. to even the score at one in the 57th minute.
From there, both teams played with high energy into overtime, each coming achingly close to a winner multiple times but falling short. In the end it was a hard-fought draw for UCLA, one that saw the team match Stanford’s intensity and aggressiveness, something that Torre had cited as key going into the match.
After playing nearly 200 minutes of soccer over the weekend, the Bruins will welcome the four days of rest before they play on Thursday night against No. 1 Washington.