Good defense wins championships. At least that’s how the
saying goes. But for the UCLA men’s soccer team (7-3-2, 3-1-1
Pac-10), the statement just hasn’t seemed to hold true in
their past few games. The No. 12 Bruins have found themselves in a
severe scoring drought for the past two weekends; they have not
scored a goal in over six hours of playing time. Had it not been
for their strong defensive outings, however, the Bruins would have
been in an unfriendly and unfamiliar position. The chances to score
always seem to present themselves and the Bruins usually blow their
opponents away in the shots category, but they have struggled to
find a way to get the ball past opposing goalkeepers. “We
have good chances, but it’s the last little touch on the ball
that we need to work on,” freshman forward Sal Zizzo said.
“We’re getting chances but we just can’t
score.” The general attitude among members of the team
regarding the outcomes of the past few games is neither pleased nor
down-trodden, as they have been able to recognize the outstanding
play of their defenders and goalkeeper Eric Reed. “Both games
we played really good defense, but we just couldn’t find a
goal,” Zizzo said, “That’s the main thing we need
to do: just score.” The defense refuses to take complete
credit for their ability to keep the Bruins’ record intact by
avoiding two additional losses. “We can’t put it all on
the offense; it’s a team effort,” junior defender
Brandon Owens said. “As long as our defense keeps out goals,
we can’t lose.”
HEAD-ON: As the end of regulation neared, Bruin
sophomore defender Greg Folk challenged San Diego State’s
Raul Bautista for a head ball, and the two players made
head-to-head contact, causing both players to hit the floor and
remain there for some time. While Folk got up after about two
minutes, Bautista suffered a concussion and briefly lost
consciousness. He remained on the floor for almost ten minutes as
he was attended to by trainers and paramedics who arrived via
ambulance to Marshall Field. Two fire trucks and a fire car also
came on to the scene. “The ball was hung up in the air and he
was standing underneath it. I came running from his right side and
we just both went up for it and hit heads,” Folk said.
“I’m not exactly too sure what happened (after
that).” Bautista was taken to UCLA Medical Center for
observation. After examination, he was released from the emergency
room on Sunday.
ROUGH PLAY: After the Bruins and Aztecs battled
through the first overtime, tempers began to flare and emotions ran
wild. The Bruins quickly attempted to convert a corner kick with
just over ten seconds remaining, leading to a large group of
players in the box. At the end of the half, both teams began to
push one another until they were finally broken up. “People
were just getting frustrated with the calls and the fact that there
were a lot of clear-cut chances,” Owens said.