By beating conference rival California on Friday night, the UCLA men’s soccer team took its first major step of the season.
The 3-2 overtime victory at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley was UCLA’s first road win of the year. To add to the accomplishment, the Bruins (3-3-5, 1-0-1 Pac-10) had not beaten the No. 6 Golden Bears (6-2-3, 1-1-1 Pac-10), winners of the last two Pac-10 championships, in Berkeley since 2004.
Looking to build off the momentum from their dramatic win, the Bruins were unable to put a successful ending to their Bay Area road trip, falling by a score of 2-1 to Stanford (3-6-2, 1-2-1 Pac-10) at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium in Palo Alto on Sunday. Aside from sending the Bruins home with a split of their weekend series, the loss broke UCLA’s previous six-game unbeaten run, which had been intact since Sept. 20.
On Sunday, the Bruins trailed 1-0 early before freshman forward Prince Lapnet scored his first collegiate goal off of a rebound to tie the game. The game remained knotted until Stanford struck to take a late-game lead in the 75th minute. The goal proved to be the game-winner, as Cardinal goalkeeper John Moore saved four Bruin shots in the second half.
The weekend set began well, when UCLA got out to an impressive 2-0 lead against California on Friday. After junior forward David Estrada broke a scoreless tie in the 36th minute, senior forward Maxwell Griffin added to the Bruin lead by scoring in the 60th minute. The score was a change for the UCLA squad, who have been forced to play from behind recently after struggling to be the first team to get on the scoreboard.
Despite the two-goal deficit, California was able to even the score at 2-2, finding the back of the net twice in just an 18-minute stretch in the second half.
After a foul in the box in the third minute of overtime, junior midfielder Michael Stephens stepped up to the penalty box with the game on the line. Stephens capitalized on the opportunity, scoring his sixth goal of the season, and most importantly, the game-winner.
Senior defender Brad Rusin and junior midfielder Kyle Nakazawa, both hampered by injuries, were able to take the field in both games this weekend.