UCLA began the game trailing after an early goal and No. 11 Washington never looked back, defeating the visiting team 1-0 in an open game with several scoring opportunities.
Huskies midfielder Henry Wingo connected on his first goal of the year off a deflection from a free kick in the second minute of the game. Freshman goalkeeper Kevin Silva could do nothing but stand watching as the ball sailed through five Bruin defenders and into the left corner of the goal.
After the early tally, UCLA found itself playing from behind, seeking to even out the score but to no avail.
“Tonight was a snapshot of our season,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo. “We gave up an early goal but dominated in most other facets of the game, except for the score, which is all that matters.”
Washington redshirt junior goalkeeper Auden Schilder proved why he was recently named Pac-12 Player of the Week after shutting out the Bruins for the second time this year – his fifth overall. Schilder saved all nine shots on goal from UCLA.
After giving up an early lead, UCLA (8-7-1, 3-5-0 Pac-12) went on to dominate the possession throughout the first half. The only problem was that the Bruins left the pitch scoreless.
Junior forward Abu Danladi provided most of the goal-scoring opportunities for the Bruins as the ball kept finding him but was unable to give UCLA the equalizer.
Danladi finished with nine shots, three of those on target, which led the game for either side.
The Huskies (13-4-0, 7-2-0) were content with giving up possession to the Bruins as Washington constantly played behind the midfield line to protect its early lead, attacking only when the opportunity presented itself.
UCLA hurt its chances of equalizing the score when in the 83rd minute, sophomore defender Malcolm Jones received his second yellow card of the game and was sent off for slide tackling a Washington player from behind.
Silva kept the score at 1-0, saving seven of the eight shots fired on goal. Silva took over the starting spot at goalie midway through the year after overcoming an early-season injury and looks to be a bright spot moving forward for the Bruins.
“(I was) patient, confident and comfortable, playing the best that I can,” Silva said. “Moving forward, we have to play one game at a time, do our best to make the tournament.”
UCLA failed to win a game that would have improved their chances at an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Washington kept both its six-game winning streak and conference championship goals alive.
Next up for UCLA is its final road regular-season matchup against Oregon State (6-7-3, 2-4-2) on Sunday, before returning home to finish off the year against No. 21 San Diego State (8-4-4, 3-3-2) on Thursday.