The Bruins could not put away the Beavers.
UCLA men’s soccer (9-6-0, 4-3-0 Pac-12) fell 4-3 in overtime to Oregon State (10-4-3, 6-2-1) on Sunday, in a back-and-forth game that saw UCLA go ahead twice but fail to hold the lead.
The Bruins started the scoring in the 34th minute when sophomore forward Milan Iloski split the Beavers’ defense with a no-look pass to senior midfielder Anderson Asiedu.
“When I got the ball, I already knew where (Asiedu) was and I knew I had a guy on my left, so all I had to do was turn … and without even looking, I found the gap in the defenders and slipped it in,” Iloski said.
Asiedu finished the play to put the Bruins up 1-0.
UCLA’s lead held for nine minutes before Oregon State forward Gloire Amanda headed a cross from forward Don Tchilao into the net to tie the game right before halftime. This is the second game this season that the Bruins have allowed a first-half goal.
Iloski gave UCLA the lead again in the second half, when his free kick in the 63rd minute sailed over a wall of Oregon State defenders to put the Bruins up 2-1.
The Beavers erased the lead just four minutes later, on midfielder Sofiane Djeffal’s shot inside the left post that slipped past freshman goalkeeper Justin Garces’ diving attempt.
Iloski said it was no coincidence that UCLA failed to stay ahead throughout the game.
“I think today we were a little naive once we got leads,” Iloski said. “We weren’t safe enough. When we scored goals, rather than continuing to put pressure on the team, we just decided to sit and absorb pressure until the end of the game. We got exposed for that today.”
Oregon State grabbed its first lead of the game in the 82nd minute, when the ball rebounded off of Garces in the box and midfielder Hassani Dotson fired it past the UCLA keeper to put the Beavers up 3-2 with eight minutes left in regulation.
Less than three minutes later, sophomore defender Brandon Terwege tied the game for the Bruins when he scored on a corner kick from freshman midfielder Matt Hundley.
“I knew it was going to be probably one of the last chances of the game to score,” Terwege said. “I was in the right place at the right time on the corner kick, and just kind of stuck out a foot and tapped it in.”
UCLA won their first overtime match this season against San Diego State on Oct. 13, but could not repeat on Sunday.
Just three minutes into the first overtime period, Tchilao got an open breakaway deep in UCLA territory and launched a ball from just inside the box that found the back of the net, winning the game for Oregon State.
UCLA is now seven points back from Oregon State in the standings at fourth place, the loss capping off a winless Northwest road trip. The Beavers took sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 with the win.
Iloski said the Bruins will have to change their mindset if they hope to have a chance at contending for a playoff spot.
“I think that we have the players to win and something’s just not clicking,” Iloski said. “I think we have a lot of players who think we’ve already won before we even get to the game, and that’s a problem. We’re playing hungry teams and hungry opponents and if we don’t come out with the same attitude or even a better attitude, we’re going to lose, and that’s what happened.”