Soccer balls being kicked into the back of the net weren’t
the only kind of goals the UCLA men’s soccer team wanted to
achieve. It also had team goals, one of them being a Pac-10
title.
That goal has been crossed off the list. With the Bruins’
3-1 win at Fresno State yesterday, UCLA won the Pac-10 conference,
its first conference title in five years.
“I’m extremely happy,” UCLA head coach Tom
Fitzgerald said. “Winning the Pac-10 was our first goal. The
guys deserve it.”
Going into the weekend, the Bruins didn’t control their
own destiny in the conference, but Cal’s 2-1 overtime loss at
Washington on Friday gave UCLA (13-3-3, 8-2 Pac-10) the conference
lead for good.
Against the Bulldogs (5-11-4, 2-7-1), the Bruins took an early
lead when senior forward Tim Pierce scored two goals, one in the
21st minute and the other in the 31st. Pierce finishes the season
with a team-high ten goals.
“Those goals were very important for us,” Pierce
said. “We needed them. They put us in a good position to
win.”
Fresno State made it a one-goal lead when Kupono Low scored on a
penalty kick in the 50th minute. However, UCLA’s Matt Taylor
scored a goal in the 82nd minute to secure the win. Pierce added an
assist on that goal.
“We’re feeling great right now,” sophomore
defender Tony Lawson said. “We have the talent and the
coaching staff to go all the way.”
The first step towards a championship will be this weekend. The
draws for the NCAA tournament are announced today at 1:30 p.m., and
the No. 6 Bruins figure to have a high seed. Getting a top-8 seed
would ensure UCLA hosting the first three rounds of the tournament.
A top-4 seed would ensure hosting four rounds.
“There’s always a few surprises in the draws every
year,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re hoping for a top-8
seed. But stranger things have happened.”
The first round match, probably at Drake Stadium, will be played
on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday.