Forward Kyle Nakazawa stared down a wall of defenders.
Tied 0-0 late in the game against New Mexico, Nakazawa had been fouled driving right in front of the goal box, and had the chance to finish the play himself on a free kick.
The sophomore bent the ball around the wall and past Lobo goalie Mike Graczyk to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with under two minutes to play.
“When I first lined up, I didn’t see an angle to the near post,” Nakazawa said. “I started to look toward the center of the goal, and I said, “˜I could bend the ball around the wall.’ I went up and I don’t think I could hit it any better, and I saw it go in the back of the net.”
The forward rushed to the sideline, where he was immediately mobbed by his teammates.
The 1-0 win advances UCLA to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for a rematch against seventh-seeded Santa Clara, who defeated the Bruins in overtime 2-1 on Sept. 22.
The game-winning goal was Nakazawa’s first on a free kick for the season, and it sparked massive celebration.
“(I went) wild,” goalkeeper Brian Perk said. “I didn’t know where to run. The guys were too far away. I saw (defender Mike) Zaher, the first guy I saw, so I just picked him up.”
The Bruins needed to hold on to the lead for a mere 99 seconds to earn the win, but those closing seconds proved to be no walk in the park.
On a New Mexico service into the UCLA penalty box, Perk came out for the ball amid traffic. When he went up in the air, he got upended and landed hard on his shoulder and face.
“I think the way he fell ““ the scary way that he fell ““ scared everyone and (made people think) it was worse than it is,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “I think he’ll be fine and we’ll get ourselves ready (for Santa Clara).”
Perk came out of the game with just 38 seconds left and had to sit on the sideline as the clock ticked down. Backup goalkeeper Trevor Hunter came in, but was not tested as the Bruins completed the victory.
After the game, Perk had ice on his shoulder, and not a lot of sensation in it.
“I can’t feel it right now, so that’s either really good or really bad,” he said.
The Bruins have their fingers crossed for a healthy Perk for this Wednesday’s game. Losing their keeper now would be a catastrophic turn of events for the team, as the sophomore has started every game in goal this season.
On a more positive injury-related note, the Bruins expect to have midfielder Jason Leopoldo back in their lineup for the Santa Clara game. Leopoldo will be recovered from an ankle sprain sustained against San Diego State on Nov. 14 that kept him out of the contest against New Mexico.
Saturday’s game had the complexion of a lot of UCLA’s games this season. The Bruins controlled the flow of play, getting the better of the opportunities throughout, but were unable to pull ahead most of the way.
“I thought we had the game in control for long periods of the time, but obviously, at 0-0, anything can happen,” Salcedo said. “I think the chances they got were from some of our mistakes, nothing really from their build-ups.