For a few gleeful seconds, Friday night was yet another stunning comeback for the UCLA men’s soccer team.
Until it wasn’t.
The Bruins, down 2-1 in the 85th minute, finally broke through when freshman midfielder Jose Hernandez rocketed a shot past Cardinal goalie Andrew Epstein for what most Bruin fans believed to be the equalizer.
The linesman, however, had something to say about it, ruling senior forward Larry Ndjock offside and negating the game-tying goal.
“To me, it’s very clear that Larry – the person that’s called offside – is not participating in the play, doesn’t make a play on the ball, doesn’t make the defender react,” said head coach Jorge Salcedo. “Jose comes from five, six yards deep, and there’s no chance he’s offside. If Larry doesn’t make a play on the ball then, by rule, he’s not offside.”
Despite his protests to the head referee, Salcedo and his Bruins remained in a one-goal deficit with just five minutes left. That is where the scoring remained, as unranked UCLA (6-6-0, 2-2-0 Pac-12) fell to No. 3 Stanford (10-1-1, 3-0-1) by a final score of 2-1.
With no tie game, no overtime and no chance for a win, the home team lingered by the bench long after the game was over, staring at the empty pitch. UCLA’s frustration was twofold – both with the controversial call and with the knowledge that the Bruins were the better team for much of the game.
UCLA out-shot Stanford 15-6, owning the possession battle from start to finish. It was only on a fluke goal one minute before halftime and on a magnificent top-right corner shot in the 65th that the Bruins slipped up.
It was enough to be their undoing.
“We gave the game away,” Salcedo said. “Both goals came from our mistakes, we had the ball the whole night, we dominated in shots, dominated in chances. It’s just a tough one to swallow, really tough one to swallow.”
While Salcedo and the Bruins were furious over the offside call, their inability to capitalize on numerous scoring chances proved more frustrating.
“There’s nothing you can do if calls don’t go our way,” said redshirt senior defender Edgar Contreras. “But you have to find a way to beat the opposing team, and beat the ref.”
Only sophomore forward Abu Danladi was able to officially find the back of the net for UCLA, volleying a deflection from the center of the penalty box past Epstein in the 48th minute. The goal was his second on the season.
“(There’s) not that much to say,” Danladi said. “The key is that we don’t give away goals, and make sure we’re scoring more. Stanford is one of the best teams, and we have to play with an edge if we want to win.”
With time winding down and the Bruins in a one-goal deficit, UCLA ratcheted up the pressure, tallying 11 shots in the second half alone. Freshman midfielder Jackson Yueill and senior defender Javan Torre led the charge in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
Only Hernandez managed to sneak a shot past Epstein after the 80th minute, but – instead of celebration – the Bruins were left with only frustration.
The Cardinal win was their first over the Bruins in five years, and their first in Westwood in the almost 50-year history of the program.
UCLA concludes its three-game homestand against unranked Cal (5-4-2, 0-2-2) Monday night. After beginning the season with five wins in six games, the Golden Bears are 0-3-2 since mid-September and have lost all three of their road games so far.