Since the start of 2013, the Washington men’s soccer team has lost all of five games. As of Thursday night, UCLA has handed them three of those defeats.
On Thursday night – exactly a week after defeating the then-No. 1 Huskies at home – the Bruins beat them on the road 2-1 to take sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 with 13 points.
The game – the final matchup between the Pac-12’s top-two teams this season – was a bit of a microcosm of the two teams’ respective seasons: Washington (10-3-1, 3-2-1 Pac-12) got ahead early, but UCLA (9-3-3, 4-1-1) came back to reclaim the lead.
Just a week ago, the No. 4 Huskies were in control of the Pac-12, and the No. 6 Bruins were in a bit of a hole, trailing Washington by three points in the standings. With their Pac-12 title hopes on the line, the Bruins defeated the Huskies, tying them atop the conference standings.
Early on Thursday night, a similar story held true. Washington came surging out of the gates, scoring a goal on a corner kick just over two minutes into the game. UCLA had its back against the wall, in need of a score to tie the game and prevent Washington from taking sole possession of first place in the conference.
In the 37th minute, UCLA responded with a set piece of its own: a corner from senior midfielder Leo Stolz aimed toward the back post, which set senior defender Aaron Simmons up for the equalizer. Amid a swarm of six Washington defenders crammed inside the 6-yard box, Simmons’ head was all that made contact with the ball, which ended up in the back of the Huskies’ net.
With the game and the conference standings all knotted up, freshman forward Seyi Adekoya put UCLA ahead for good, just like he did a week earlier. The Seattle native’s 54th-minute goal was the difference, putting UCLA on top of the game, the Huskies and the Pac-12 conference.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.