A pair of strikes from an unlikely source, junior forward Max Estrada, helped UCLA pull out a pair of victories this past weekend, including a stunning come-from-behind victory over UC Irvine on Sunday.
Estrada came on as a substitute in both games and both times netted the game-winning goal as No. 14 UCLA beat Tulsa 1-0 on Friday and No. 11 UCI, 2-1, on Sunday.
In the 87th minute against UCI, junior midfielder Victor Munoz found space in front of the penalty box and dropped a perfect looping cross toward the back post where Estrada volleyed the ball into the net. The Bruins trailed with 20 minutes to play before making a furious late rally courtesy of goals by redshirt senior midfielder Fernando Monge and Estrada.
“Munoz got perfect space on it and I curled out from behind, the defender didn’t see me coming, and he set it up perfectly,” Estrada said. “I got a volley on it, it hit my shin, but it’s fine it went in the back of the net.”
On Friday, Estrada headed home a Munoz cross in the 44th minute to give the team a 1-0 win. Estrada’s pair of game-winning goals are the first two goals of his UCLA career. In the 83rd minute Sunday, senior forward/midfielder Evan Raynr slid to save a ball along the end line, crossing it into the penalty box where Monge headed it past the Anteaters’ diving goalkeeper. Estrada followed with the game-winner minutes later.
“That’s how soccer works sometimes,” Monge said. “(One) team gets momentum and you start going after it, and you’ve got to get through that. (The) goals come after that, once you get the momentum going.”
The win over UCI improved UCLA’s record to 3-1-1, having recorded a draw and three straight wins since its season-opening loss. Freshman goalkeeper Juan Cervantes again made the start Sunday, his fourth consecutive since an injury to redshirt sophomore Earl Edwards. He finished with eight saves on the weekend, including a critical second-half save on a Tulsa breakaway Friday night to preserve the victory.
“His composure in goal, his ability to make saves when we need those big saves; he’s shown now for three games that he can do that,” UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said of Cervantes Friday night. “I thought that he made it very difficult to be beaten.”
After a commanding performance against Tulsa, Salcedo said he was proud of the way his team gutted out a victory Sunday despite struggling at times.
“It just wasn’t our best day and our passing and our movement weren’t as sharp as we needed to be and that was disappointing. But obviously on the flip side of that, it’s really impressive to see the group find a way, being down 1-0, to score two goals in the last part of the game,” Salcedo said.
UCLA will be on the road this week, playing against Loyola Marymount Sunday.
“We know we’re going to get better, and we are going to demand that,” Salcedo said.