Just a day after the UCLA women’s soccer team saw its season come to an end in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, the Bruin men suffered a similar fate.
The road woes continued for the sixth-seeded Bruins ““ they were knocked out of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in their quarterfinal match Saturday, losing 2-0 on the road against third-seeded Wake Forest.
UCLA finishes the season with a record of 12-4-4, with all four of their losses coming on the road.
But despite their struggles away from home, UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo explained that being on the road for Saturday’s match was not the deciding factor in the Bruins’ loss.
“We played a very good game, and our guys should be proud of their effort tonight,” Salcedo said after the match. “The game could have gone either way. We had our chances in the first half and the second half, and Wake (Forest) had their chances, too. They just did a better job with finishing their chances. It was definitely an even game, but unfortunately, they scored the goals tonight.”
After an even first half in which neither team was able to get on the board, the Wake Forest offense capitalized on two of their second-half scoring opportunities.
In the 52nd minute, Demon Deacons forward Zack Schilawski scored on a rebound from 7 yards out, after a teammate’s shot hit the right post.
In the 78th minute, the Demon Deacons were awarded a penalty shot after a red card on UCLA, but the shot was saved by Bruin goalkeeper Brian Perk. But two minutes later, Wake Forest struck once again on a goal by forward Andy Lubahn. Perk was able to get his hand on the ball but could not keep it from reaching the back of the net.
“It was a good reaction from No. 12, Schilawski, to score,” Salcedo said. “Then Brian made a tremendous save to keep the game at 1-0. They got the penalty kick, and he made a great save. And on the second goal, we exposed ourselves in the back after making some changes and trying to push forward.”
But according to Salcedo, the Bruins were certainly the aggressors on offense in the second half and kept the Demon Deacons on their toes. UCLA was simply not able to capitalize.
“There was a point in the second half where we were really taking it to them, and they were just trying to survive,” Salcedo said.
Despite the Bruins coming up short, Salcedo was more than satisfied with the way his team played and made it clear that this UCLA squad has nothing to be ashamed of.
In addition, the Bruins not only made a lasting impression on their coach, but on their opposing coaching staff as well .
“Their coaches after the game said that we’re the best team they’ve seen at Wake Forest in years, so that’s not so bad,” Salcedo said. “It makes us feel better, and we know we should be proud of our performance, but we’re definitely disappointed we couldn’t make it to the College Cup.”
Last week, Salcedo expressed how special it would be for his seniors if UCLA reached the College Cup once again, making it for the second time in four years. And even though the Bruins were unable to accomplish that goal, Salcedo expressed how proud he was of his graduating group of players, and moreover, how proud they should be of what they accomplished at UCLA.
“The seniors should be proud of themselves,” Salcedo said. “They won a couple of Pac-10 Championships, made an NCAA Final and an Elite Eight. They definitely should be proud of what they achieved here at UCLA.”