Men’s soccer snaps losing streak with second-half scoring over Mustangs
Sophomore forward Seyi Adekoya’s two goals helped UCLA snap its three-game losing streak Friday night against Cal Poly. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Tanner Walters
Sept. 19, 2015 2:19 p.m.
The Bruins were waiting for a breakthrough.
Mired in a three-game skid, the unranked UCLA men’s soccer team was searching for answers, and it found them in the second half of Friday’s 4-1 victory over Cal Poly.
Led by sophomore forwards Seyi Adekoya and Abu Danladi, the Bruins (2-3-0) scored four unanswered goals to fly past the visiting Mustangs (3-2-1).
“The whole year, so far, we’ve been playing one half really well but not both halves,” Adekoya said. “We came out and had a pretty good first half – not as great as we wanted – so coach told us (the) second half needs to be a lot better.”
UCLA did improve its play, ratcheting up the pressure and bringing its outside backs into the offensive attacks. In the 63rd minute, with the score 2-1, Danladi beat a defender down the right sideline and found Adekoya in the middle of the penalty box, who quickly slotted it past the diving goalkeeper.
The sophomores and their impressive speed simply overwhelmed the Mustangs.
Adekoya would finish the scoring 14 minutes later with an unassisted goal in which he dribbled half the field, evading the entire Cal Poly defense to make it 4-1.
The Bruins’ two other goals came earlier in the second half when junior defender Michael Amick and freshman midfielder Jackson Yueill scored less than three minutes apart.
“(We) focused on being more dynamic,” Amick said. “Obviously we have pace up top so we were looking to get in behind over the top a little bit more … ultimately, just moving the ball a little quicker and really attacking.”
Once the Bruins got that crucial first goal from Amick, the offense seemed to find its rhythm that was largely missing from the past two weeks.
“It’s been a rough go of it for the first four matches of the season – obviously we took some on the chin,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “I’ve played the team in different systems, played different formations, played different personnel, and really we can’t be a consistent team without having consistent performances with a consistent approach to the game.”
Defensively, the Bruins appeared solid. The sole letdown came on a sneaky free kick in the 32nd minute. Bending down and pretending to adjust the ball’s placement, the Cal Poly player immediately chipped the ball over the UCLA defense – almost like a quick pitch in baseball. Caught off-guard, the Bruins were unable to gain possession in front of the goal and the Mustangs tipped the ball across the line.
Besides that, UCLA redshirt junior goalkeeper Juan Cervantes went largely untested. Returning from a minor injury that sidelined him for a game, Cervantes made one save in 90 minutes.
Salcedo, while happy with his team’s performance, said that he expects even more.
“It shows a glimpse at who we can be,” he said. “I know that the guys have more quality and more ability than we showed tonight.”
The Bruins return to Drake Stadium for a Monday evening matchup against UC Santa Barbara.
