Shutout in Seattle ends four-game win streak for men’s soccer
Redshirt junior defender Matthew Powell has started in all 14 games for UCLA men’s soccer this season. He scored against Omaha on Sept. 12 but has not recorded a goal in the nine games since. (Liz Ketcham/Assistant Photo editor)
Men's soccer
| UCLA | 0 |
| Washington | 2 |
By Marcus Veal
Oct. 26, 2018 3:14 a.m.
In a match that mirrored the first meeting between the Bruins and Huskies, goals were hard to come by.
UCLA men’s soccer (9-5, 4-2 Pac-12) snapped its four-game win streak with a 2-0 loss against Washington (9-7, 4-4) on a rainy Thursday night.
Just under 75 minutes into the match, the Bruins were on pace to tally their sixth shutout of the season. The two teams combined for one shot in the first 15 minutes and the first half ended knotted at 0-0.
It wasn’t until the Bruins drew their first red card of the season and had to play a man down that the Huskies were able to get on the board.
The Bruins have had a history of success on the road against Washington. UCLA had just one loss in their last 11 trips to Husky Stadium entering the game Thursday night.
The Bruins were forced to play most of the second half down a player after redshirt senior midfielder Joab Santoyo drew a red card in the 52nd minute.
“It was just a moment where two players got tangled up a little bit and inevitably (Santoyo) had a poor reaction,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “It’s unfortunate because it did deserve a red card, especially coming from a fifth-year senior, and it negatively impacted the game.”
UCLA held Washington scoreless for more than twenty minutes after the red card was issued. The Huskies eventually netted the first goal of the game in the 74th minute. Scott Menzies found the back of the net on a penalty kick for his eighth goal on the year.
On the Huskies’ ensuing possession, Freddy Kleeman stretched the Washington lead to two with a goal off of a corner kick in the 77th minute.
Tonight marked the first game this season in which the Bruins failed to record a shot on goal. The Huskies had seven shots on goal against freshman goalkeeper Justin Garces and the Bruins’ defense.
Freshman midfielder Matt Hundley gave credit to Washington’s defense for being only the third team to shutout the Bruins.
“Washington is a really organized team,” Hundley said. “It became difficult to break them down with the rain pouring throughout the game and of course when we got down to 10 men.”
Salcedo said that it had rained all day in Seattle leading up to the game, that the rain continued to be a factor during the game.
“The field was slippery which made our footing more difficult to manage, but even so, we could’ve been better on the attack and we still had chances in the box,” Salcedo said. “We struggled to push forward and create consistent dangerous moments.”
Despite the loss, the Bruins have now held their opponent off the board in the first half in 12 of their 14 games played this season.
Redshirt junior defender Matthew Powell said that the Bruins are still in position to run the table and win the Pac-12 title.
“A win on Sunday will give us three points before we close the regular season with three home games,” Powell said. “We know it’s not going to be easy and now there is a little more adversity we have to go through and we know that the margin of error is a little smaller.”
UCLA travels to Oregon State for Sunday’s match at 2 p.m.
