Men’s soccer beats Matadors after Anteater loss
By Daily Bruin
Sept. 23, 2013 5:28 p.m.
The UCLA men’s soccer team returned to Westwood with a mixed bag of experiences after a quick road trip around California.
The Bruins had trouble mustering up any offensive rhythm against unranked UC Irvine (4-1-2) Thursday night. After being outshot 7-1 on shots on goal, No.11 UCLA fell to the Anteaters, 3-1.
Senior forward Reed Williams headed in the lone goal of the game for the Bruins in the 74th minute, but it was too little too late as the Bruins could not overcome two goals off penalty kicks by UC Irvine.
The loss snapped UCLA’s road record of a 20-game winning streak, which spanned over two years. But UCLA (4-2-1) bounced back quickly on Sunday, finishing the trip with a 4-2 victory after putting together a complete team performance against No. 3 Cal State Northridge (7-1-0).
The Bruins struck first just before the end of the first half off a penalty kick goal by junior midfielder Leo Stolz. UCLA carried the momentum over to the second half, after a lob from redshirt senior midfielder Ryan Lee in the 51st minute placed the ball perfectly for a header from senior forward Victor Chavez to take a 2-0 lead.
Another header goal soon after in the 52nd minute, this time from the Matadors, kept the game close, but both Stolz and Chavez added their second goals of the game to shut the door on Cal State Northridge.
Stolz found the back of the net in the 74th minute off a mishandle by the Matadors goalkeeper while Chavez capped off the scoring for UCLA in the 85th minute, making it 4-1 before an Anteaters goal in the 88th minute ended the game 4-2.
After the road trip, UCLA will return home to play UC Riverside (5-0-2) on Thursday to complete the final match of its non-conference schedule.
Compiled by Derrek Li, Bruin Sports contributor.
