The UCLA soccer team came into Sunday’s home game against
No. 15 Oregon State needing a win to clinch its second consecutive
Pac-10 title.
But the No. 1 Bruins didn’t just win. Instead, UCLA
thoroughly dominated the Beavers, winning 5-0 to gain an automatic
bid into the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins struck before the crowd was even in its seats, as a
scramble in front of OSU goalkeeper Peter Billmeyer resulted in a
goal by freshman defender Brandon Owens in the fourth minute.
Just three minutes later, the Bruins scored again. This time, it
was on an excellent goal by senior midfielder Ty Maurin, who took a
pass from junior Aaron Lopez, ran past a Beaver defender, and sent
the ball top shelf past Billmeyer to make it 2-0. The goal was
Maurin’s first goal of his career.
“That was our objective today (to score early). This is
our field and we feel we have to dictate the pace,” coach Tom
Fitzgerald said. “If we scored first, we felt we could take
them out of the game, and that is exactly what happened.”
The Bruins (17-1, 9-0 Pac-10), who have now won 15 straight
games, were not content with just two goals against the Beavers
(13-5, 7-2). Senior midfielder Adolfo Gregorio hustled to score the
Bruins’ third goal, intercepting a pass deep in the
Beavers’ end and sending a shot past Billmeyer in the 28th
minute.
Gregorio’s goal effectively ended the game, as Fitzgerald
subsequently emptied his bench.
After the surprisingly easy win Sunday, the mood was subdued.
The usual hugs from parents and high-fives from friends were the
same as a pre-season game in September. Everyone knew that there is
a much bigger goal ahead ““ to defend last year’s
national championship title.
“That is, of course, our biggest objective, and the one we
are preparing for the most,” Fitzgerald said.
“Everything is in preparation for the national
title.”
Sunday’s domination seemed to prove to everybody that the
Bruins are ready to defend the national title. However, some
players disagreed with that premise.
“We’re not peaking; we didn’t even play that
great today,” Maurin said. “We have yet to play a full
90 minutes this year.”
“You can always play better, senior forward Matt Taylor
said. “I mean, we played great today, but we know we can play
better. This is just a stepping stone into playoffs.”
On Friday, the Bruins defeated Washington (10-4-2, 3-4-1) 1-0.
The only goal of the game, scored by Lopez in the fourth minute,
was a 25-yard blast right at Husky goalkeeper Daniel Waltman that
was fumbled into the goal.