DALLAS, TX- It only seems fitting that after a weekend where
defense took center stage at Southern Methodist University a
defender would score the one and only goal in the NCAA men’s
soccer championship final.
Arch rivals No. 3 UCLA and No. 9 Stanford beat each other up for
90 minutes in Sunday’s historic all Pac-10 final, and the
Bruins emerged with a narrow 1-0 victory to claim the national
championship.
After 88 minutes of defensive brilliance from both teams, UCLA
defender Aaron Lopez finally found the back of the net with a
left-footed shot from the six yard line to break a scoreless tie
and give UCLA its fourth NCAA men’s soccer title, the
school’s first since 1997.
The goal came after a Stanford foul that set up a free kick by
Herman Award nominee Ryan Futagaki just outside the top left corner
of the Stanford penalty area. Futagaki sent the kick into the box
and Lopez, who was named tournament offensive MVP, was there to put
it away with his left foot.
“In our set pieces, our main objective is not to hit is
high, because (Stanford) is so dominant in the air,” Futagaki
said. “I tried to play it waist high and fortunately Aaron
was there.”
“I just made my run and the ball was there,” Lopez
said. “Luckily, I got my foot on it and it went
in.”
Lopez’s goal was a pretty finish to a game that was
anything but.
This was definitely not the prettiest game I ever
coached,” UCLA head coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “But I
told the guys that if it was going to be ugly, we needed to win. It
was a great gutsy performance by a great group of guys, just like
every game we’ve played this year.”
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively, and
nervous energy clearly got the best of the two squads in the first
half.
“Throughout the whole game we were a little
nervous,” UCLA midfielder Adolfo Gregorio, one of five Bruins
selected to the all-tournament team, said. “We were all just
so excited that we couldn’t really play our game. After the
first 20 minutes we started the knock the ball around a little
better.”
Stanford had their best scoring opportunity of the game in the
seventh minute off of a corner kick. Stanford defender Taylor
Graham beat UCLA goaltender Zach Wells with a header, but
midfielder Jimmy Frazelle, who was positioned at the back post, was
able to block the ball with his body on the goal line to prevent a
sure Stanford goal.
“My job (on corner kicks) is to guard the back
post,” Frazelle said. It’s happened before where the
ball has gotten by Zach, and this time the ball popped over towards
me. I was very happy that we were able to get it out of
there.”
Despite moments of apparent disorganization in the game’s
opening minutes, the UCLA defense was able to get into a rhythm and
keep the Stanford offense at bay for the remainder of the half with
the kind of physical defense that has become a trademark of this
year’s team.
“Their defenders didn’t give any ground and they
were a tough group to penetrate,” Stanford coach Bret Simon
said.
The Stanford defense was just as effective in the first half,
severely limiting the number of touches that UCLA forwards were
able to get. Both teams wasted no time ensuring that it was going
to be a physical championship contest, combining for 19 fouls in
the first half of play.
Both offenses were virtually innocuous, with neither getting
many good scoring opportunities before the end of the first half.
Futagaki nearly put the Bruins on the board in the 32nd minute, but
his shot from outside the top of the penalty area caromed off the
left goalpost.
In the 47st minute UCLA got a scare when Wells, who was named
defensive MVP of the tournament, went up for a save and landed hard
on his tailbone.
Wells had jumped to make a save off of a Stanford free kick, and
had his feet taken out from under him by a group of players who
were trying to make a play on the ball. Wells stayed down
momentarily, but eventually got up and showed no ill effects from
the fall the rest of the game.
“We did get (back-up goalie) Nate Pena up and warm him up
because Zach went up pretty high and landed on his backside,”
Fitzgerald said. “But I thought Zach had a great day today.
It was very important for him to take charge in the box and take
everything in the air.”
The second half was virtually devoid of shots, each team was
limited to two, as the midfielders and defenders of both sides kept
the game primarily in the middle of the field.
“In the second half Tom talked to us and told us to calm
down and play like we usually play,” Frazelle said. “We
started passing the ball well and kept the ball moving. We did a
good job of keeping them running around in circles.”
In the 80th minute Stanford started to turn up the pressure with
a flurry of offensive runs that resulted in several goal scoring
opportunities, but a header from Graham that went wide was the only
shot the Cardinal could muster.
UCLA leading goal scorer Tim Pierce was able to make a run down
the right side of the field in the 85th minute, but the stingy
Cardinal defense prevented Pierce from getting a clean shot. It
appeared that UCLA had seen the last goal scoring chance they would
have in regulation.
That proved not to be the case in the 89th minute when Stanford
committed its 19th foul of the game, and most costly foul of the
season, right outside the top left corner of their own penalty box.
Futagaki took the free kick and Lopez sent the UCLA fans that were
among the 8,498 on hand into a frenzy by breaking the scoreless
tie.
“This is a dream come true,” Futagaki said.
“It’s every kid’s dream to win a national
championship. To win one in my last year here is an awesome way to
go out.”
The win completed a weekend of soccer filled with late game
heroics. The deciding goal in Friday’s semifinal came on a
penalty kick in the 82nd minute.
The Bruins were the most represented squad on the all-tournament
team, with defender Scot Thompson and forward Matt Taylor joining
Gregorio, Lopez, and Taylor on the squad.
Lopez, a sophomore, finished the tournament with two goals
including the championship clincher. Taylor was the leading scorer
of the tournament, earning 12 points with five goals and two
assists. Wells, a junior, gave up just one goal in the final two
rounds of the tournament while making seven saves on his way to
defensive MVP honors.
It was the third victory over the Stanford by the Bruins this
year, and all three wins have been one-goal victories that were
scoreless for at least the first 86 minutes.
“As has been in games against UCLA this year, we had
chances to win that disappeared in the blink of an eye,”
Stanford head coach Bret Simon said. “I want to congratulate
UCLA. They are our brothers in the conference and a very deserving
champion.”
For Coach Fitzgerald the championship served as a sign that he
is back in coaching for quite some time, something he didn’t
know would happen after getting fired as coach of the Columbus Crew
in 2001.
“It’s kind of surreal,” he said.
“It’s an incredible experience to win a championship.
You never know what’s going to happen in life. I’m
happy to be here and plan on being around along time.”
The surreal feeling was one that the entire team was feeling
following the victory.
“This is a fairy tale ending, I’m in
disbelief,” Frazelle said. “This is amazing to come out
as a senior on that field and win the last game of the whole year.
I’m tingling all over right now, I can’t stop jumping
around.”
It truly was a fairy tale ending for a group of guys who at long
last are finally able to call themselves national champions.