Men's Soccer team heads off to College Cup

They couldn’t have drawn it up any better – probably because coach Jorge Salcedo did draw it up.

With eighth-seeded UCLA going into overtime at first-seeded Duke, Salcedo brought out the Xs and Os with his players in case they found themselves in a specific scenario.

Thirty seconds into the first overtime period, it paid off.

“Jorge drew up a play (in which if) we were able to get behind (on a) near-post run, ... (it would) guarantee an opening,” midfielder Sal Zizzo said. “Jason (Leopoldo) beat this guy and hit a hard cross on the ground. I was there at the near post and touched it in with my right foot.”

The result of Zizzo’s second goal: a win and a trip to St. Louis for the College Cup.

The Bruins had trailed the Blue Devils in the quarterfinal match most of the way, and when they came back to win the game, Salcedo could barely contain himself.

“I was so elated and somewhat in disbelief,” Salcedo said. “(There were) so many emotions. As a coach (I have to) stay composed, but it was hard for a second.”

TOURNAMENT BRACKET Click here to see the official NCAA College Cup bracket for Men's Soccer.

The Bruins came back from a long way down Sunday, falling behind 2-0 in the first 20 minutes.

Duke’s first goal came 25 seconds into the match, when Spencer Wadsworth found the top left corner from 15 feet out. Wadsworth then got an assist in the 19th minute, when he found teammate Chris Loftus 15 feet out off a corner kick to help put Duke up 2-0.

The Bruins huddled together following the goal, knowing they had to turn the game around.

“After the second goal, we brought it in as a team,” UCLA defender Brad Rusin said. “We said we needed to pick it up (because) we knew that if we didn’t it would be our last game.”

They did, and it wasn’t.

Leopoldo cut the deficit in half in the 41st minute with a volley off of a cross, making the score 2-1 going into the half.

“At half it was 2-1 and we knew what we had to do,” Zizzo said. “We (had) scored three goals in all our playoff games (up until then), and we had to do it again.”

UCLA beat Harvard 3-0 in the second round and took Clemson 3-0 as well.

Three would once again prove to be the lucky number for the blue and gold.

The second of UCLA’s three goals came in the 78th minute when the Bruins replicated the corner-kick play from their first playoff game against Harvard. Zizzo tallied his first goal, finding the left side of the net from eight feet out after passes.

The teams would battle for the final 12 minutes of regulation, with neither giving way.

The Bruin defense continued its rebound, allowing no scoring after Duke’s initial surge.

Zizzo’s second goal – UCLA’s third – came just a few blinks into overtime, giving the Bruins a rematch against fourth-seeded Virginia in the semifinals. The Bruins and the Cavaliers met earlier in the season, in Charlottesville, Va. on Sept. 4, with Virginia taking the contest, 1-0.

The Bruins’ Friday night semifinal will have two very different teams meeting.

“We’ve come full circle,” Salcedo said. “We thought we should have beat them (before). ... They have a good attack and they get forward, (but) if we defend well, we’ll have a good shot.”

On their way to St. Louis with three playoff wins under their belts, the Bruins are hungry for two more and a chance to raise the trophy.

“We all want to win,” Rusin said. “I think we’re ready, and we want a national title.”