As hundreds of students gathered in Wilson Plaza for the Rivalry Week bonfire rally, another rally was taking place less than a mile away at Drake Stadium: UCLA and Colgate scored a combined five goals in the first half alone of their 2016 NCAA Tournament opener.
The Bruins (10-7-2, 4-5-1 Pac-12) came out firing on all cylinders, taking down the Raiders (13-7-2, 5-3-1 Patriot League) in a decisive 4-2 victory.
Despite ending the regular season in a scoreless tie against San Diego State last week, UCLA hit the ground running Thursday with three shots in the first 14 minutes.
“We played with a really attacking lineup from the get-go,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “Having Willie Raygoza, Abu (Danladi), Jackson (Yueill) and Jose (Hernandez) down the middle of the field really benefited us in the first half.”
Sophomore midfielder Hernandez struck first for the Bruins in the 17th minute with a long shot that curled around the Raiders’ goalkeeper, Ricky Brown and into the back of the net. The goal was Hernandez’s fifth of the season.
“They were kind of just sitting back,” Hernandez said. “When a team does that it’s kind of hard to break them down. … So sometimes you just got to switch it up.”
UCLA continued to apply offensive pressure, leaving holes in the defense for the visiting team to attack. Less than five minutes later, Colgate forward Zach Pagani capitalized on the empty backfield, scoring the equalizer on a low shot toward the left post.
But the tie was short lived.
In the 22nd minute, senior midfielder Raygoza countered Pagani’s goal with one of his own from the top of the box.
“I saw Abu receive the ball and two defenders follow him, so there was an open gap between the centerback,” Raygoza said. “He played me a perfect ball. I think my shot wasn’t hard enough, but it got the goalie a little off-balance, and it just rolled in.”
Although the goal gave the Bruins the lead that carried them throughout the rest of the game, their offense was far from finished.
Junior forward Danladi netted his team-leading sixth goal, one-timing a perfect cross from senior forward Abdullah Adam in the 33rd minute. Danladi fell hard after the shot, and was helped off the field. He did not play for the remainder of the match.
Colgate’s rebuttal came in the form of an unassisted goal from junior defender Bruno Scodari in the 38th minute, but it was not enough to stifle UCLA’s mounting momentum.
The Bruins’ defense picked up in the second half, preventing the Raiders’ three remaining shots from crossing the goal line.
“Great credit to their guys in the second half,” Salcedo said. “They had a ton of set pieces and long throw-ins, and our guys dealt with it really well.”
The final blow came with only a minute left in regulation, as sophomore midfielder Kike Poleo scored his first goal of the season off a free kick pass.
With the win, the Bruins advanced to the second round of the tournament for the eighth year in a row. They will face the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (12-5-2, 5-2-1 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Louisville.