Bruins Sock(er) it to Mustangs, finish league season undefeated

Wednesday, November 6, 1996

MEN’S SOCCER:

UCLA up to third place in nation with 12th straight winBy Mark
Shapiro

Daily Bruin Staff

Last season, the UCLA men’s soccer team became the first squad
in history to go undefeated in MPSF play.

This season, they became the first to repeat the feat when they
closed out Cal-Poly 2-1 over the weekend to finish their league
campaign with a perfect 5-0 record.

Saturday presented the Bruins with perhaps their stiffest league
challenge of the season when they trundled north to face the
Mustangs. There was no motivation in the game for the Bruins since
they had already clinched the league championship. Playing in a
hostile environment, on a wet field, against a team hell-bent for
revenge after last season’s loss in the playoffs didn’t help much
either.

The scoring was opened in the sixth minute by senior Brian
Irvin, who notched the first goal of his career. Just before the
half, Mustang midfielder Clay Harty notched the equalizer. The tie
would last until the 77th minute when reserve forward
extraordinaire Seth George banged in his team-leading seventh goal
to break the deadlock and render the final score.

With the victory, the Bruins secured their 12th straight league
victory and maintained the perfection of the career league records
of 12 players on the roster.

More importantly, the victory extended UCLA’s winning streak to
nine games and moved the team to number three in the nation, behind
Virginia, the lone undefeated team in the country, and
Washington.

With a victory this weekend against Cal-State Sacramento and
next weekend at California in the MPSF championship game, the
Bruins will match last season’s 11-game winning streak.

* * *

George’s goal didn’t just break a tie with Cal-Poly, it also
broke his tie with forward Nick Theslof for the team scoring lead.
With his seven goals and five assists, George’s 19 points lead the
pack. He has also tallied the game winner in two of UCLA’s last
three games. After being moved out of the starting lineup on Oct.
4, George has posted four goals and one assist.

Theslof has been no slouch either as his nine assists lead the
West Region and his four goals place him in a tie for third on the
team. Theslof was the bane of UCLA’s MPSF opponents, as nine of his
17 points were scored during league play.

* * *

The Bruin defense has been just as spectacular as their
offensive counterparts during the winning streak, allowing only
five goals and posting five shutouts during the run. The goalkeeper
rotation of Matt Reis and Kevin Hartman has worked out famously,
with Hartman posting a goals-against-average of 0.89 with six
shutouts and Reis holding a GAA of 0.30 with two shutouts.

WYNN RUJIRAVIRIYAPINYO

Seth George, #12, leads the Bruins in points after his
game-winning goal against Cal-Poly.