Strong teamwork leads Bruins to 2-0 victory over Davidson despite slow start

A pair of goals from freshman midfielder Kelyn Rowe and a strong backline performance was all the UCLA men’s soccer team needed to defeat the Davidson Wildcats 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Both of Rowe’s goals came from finely crafted team moves, and the freshman had the vision to power both of them into the back of the net from distance.

The Bruins’ defensive back four of Shawn Singh, Zack Zerrenner, Reid Hukari and Matt Wiet provided a strong resistance to any attempted Davidson attack, helping redshirt junior goalkeeper Brian Rowe earn his second shutout of the year.

UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo was pleased with how his team managed to recover from a shaky start and emerge with a victory.

“I thought early on we had some issues, they had a couple breakaways,” Salcedo said. “The first 20 to 25 minutes, we were lethargic throughout the field, but after that, we were pretty solid.”

The No. 17 Bruins (3-1-0) managed 15 shots compared to just nine for Davidson (2-1-2). Brian Rowe made four saves to preserve his clean sheet.

After Hukari made one early mistake that led to a Davidson breakaway, he regained his composure for the rest of the match. Most every ball Davidson played high was sent back by the towering freshman.

“It was pretty fun today,” Hukari said. “The team played really well together. We’ve been working in training to try to figure out the back four. It’s so competitive, so I’m glad I got the start, because everyone’s out there fighting for a spot. Our team’s coming together well at the back, and we’ve just got to improve from here.”

The first half was relatively uneventful for the Bruins. Freshman forward Zack Foxhoven created UCLA’s first chance of the game 23 minutes in by dribbling into Davidson’s penalty box and firing a low shot past Davidson goalkeeper Chip Sanders, but the shot rolled wide.

13 minutes into the second half, however, the Bruins finally broke the deadlock. Singh advanced with the ball down the left sideline, popped the ball over a defender and laid it off to freshman forward Victor Chavez. Chavez evaded another defender and touched the ball back to
Singh, who found Kelyn Rowe to his right. Rowe took a shot from 25 yards out and beat a diving Sanders to give the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish.

“(It was) not only him scoring two goals (that) was good for us, but his overall play,” Salcedo said. “He started as an outside midfielder in the first half, and moving him into the middle of midfield made all the difference for us.”

UCLA was denied a goal by the linesman referee 10 minutes later. Sophomore midfielder Evan Raynr received a pass from Chavez at the corner of the box and rattled the underside of the crossbar with his shot, but the linesman deemed that it did not cross the goal line when it bounced off the ground. Sophomore winger Eder Arreola headed home the rebound, but he was called offside, and the Bruins came up empty.

Rowe’s second goal came in the 77th minute. Zerrenner headed the ball to Raynr, who spotted Rowe in the middle of the field. Rowe took the pass and dribbled through the heart of the Davidson defense before sending the ball into the lower left corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area.

“I saw Zack (Foxhoven) and I saw Eder (Arreola), everyone was making good runs to distract the defense,” Rowe said. “I kind of took my touch through, and the keeper was out of position and I just put it by him.”

UCLA improves to 2-0 at home after defeating UC Riverside 2-1 in extra time on Thursday. The Bruins’ next game will be at Cal Poly on Friday.