This rarely happens. If ever. But this past weekend, the Bruins
pulled off a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in recent
memory. They defeated both USC and Stanford in the same weekend en
route to the NorCal Tournament title.
In a thrilling final match against top-ranked Stanford, the
Bruins needed two overtimes before redshirt freshman driver Matt
Jacobs connected on dry shot into the right side of the goal,
giving the Bruins the 10-9 victory at the University of Pacific
Sunday night.
“It feels great,” Jacobs said of his game-winning
goal. “It was a pretty lucky shot. It was a catch and shoot.
As soon as I shot it (Stanford goalie Chad Taylor) got a piece of
it. Everyone thought I missed it but I knew I
didn’t.”
For Jacobs to be in this position in the first place was
unlikely. Jacobs, who receives very little playing time, replaced
senior driver Josh Hewko after Hewko fouled out in the fourth
quarter.
Jacobs took advantage of the opportunity, scoring two goals in
the match, none more critical than the decisive goal against the
Cardinal.
“I’m always telling him to stop being
tentative,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “Actually, the
shots that I told him not to shoot, he shot and he made. He did a
great job stepping up and he obviously played well.”
Leading the way for the Bruins in the match was senior driver
Brett Ormsby, who scored three goals for the Bruins, including one
that tied the game at nine in the first overtime period. Ormsby, a
2004 Olympian, also created a crucial ejection in the fourth period
on star Stanford player Tony Azevedo, a fellow member of the
Olympic team.
The victory over Stanford came after an 8-6 semifinal win over
the 2003 NCAA Champion USC. An 8-3 victory over Navy and 10-9 win
over UC Irvine paved the way for UCLA to capture its second NorCal
Tournament title in the last three years.
Over the course of the tournament, Krikorian attributed the
successful weekend to the play of senior goalie Joe Axelrad, who
finished with a four-game total of 38 saves.
“He played great and had some nice saves,” Krikorian
said. “He’s been consistent over the entire
weekend.”
More than anything, the victories were a sign of
vindication.
After a lackluster fourth place finish in the So Cal Tournament
two weeks ago, the Bruins were looking to send a message.
“We were pretty upset about how we played in the So Cal
tournament,” Krikorian said. “We wanted to show people,
especially ourselves, that we can play better than what we
showed.”
Despite the fact that they beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams
in the nation this weekend, Krikorian still feels that this team
hasn’t peaked, which is a frightening thought for their
competition.
“I still think we can play better,” Krikorian said,
“but it’s a good sign that we can win a tournament that
we didn’t even play our best in.”
With reports from Bryan Chu, Bruin Sports Senior
Staff