Men’s soccer loses to Cal, beats Stanford

In a game like soccer, being in the wrong place at the wrong
time can mean ““ to say the least ““ unfavorable results.
Senior midfielder Ryan Futagaki learned that the hard way Friday
night, as UCLA lost to Cal, 1-0, in double overtime. The Golden
Bears scored off a penalty kick, awarded to them after Futagaki was
cited for having a handball in the box in the beginning of the
second overtime period.

“I thought I was in pretty good position,” Futagaki
said. “But the ball was knocked over me, and (Cal’s
Mike) Munoz hit it on his chest, and then kicked it into my hand.
It wasn’t intentional, and the ref should have seen that but
things happen.”

Many things happened Friday night that shouldn’t have.
More surprising than UCLA’s five yellow-card violations and
one red-card violation was that the Bruin’s head coach Tom
Fitzgerald also received a red card at the end of the game, which
sidelined him for Sunday’s key match against Stanford.

“The ref and I had a disagreement,” said Fitzgerald.
“I always regret it afterwards, and it was just one of those
moments when you get really frustrated.

“Friday’s match was a character- builder for the
whole team,” he said.

UCLA’s offense lacked their usual, unrelenting barrage and
only took four shots while Wells’ four saves kept Cal’s
offense at bay, until the deciding penalty kick, when he dove in
the wrong direction.

“There should have been more shots on goal,”
Futagaki said. “We definitely could have played a lot
better.”

Sunday did indeed find the Bruins playing more to their normal
par, as they defeated Stanford 1-0 for UCLA’s fifth-straight
victory over the Cardinal.

“We played well against Stanford,” Fitzgerald said.
“They dictated the first half of play, but the second half
was one of the best halves UCLA has ever played.”

UCLA’s six goal attempts may seem meager, but the Bruin
defense certainly was, fending off Stanford’s 10 goal
attempts. Junior forward Cliff McKinley, assisted by senior
midfielder Chadd Davis, gave UCLA its only goal, which Fitzgerald
said “maybe UCLA’s best goal this season.”

The weekend’s matches played a crucial role in determining
who will take the Pac-10 title and receive automatic berth in the
NCAA tournament. UCLA, currently 7-2 and Cal, currently 7-1-1, are
only separated in the conference standings by two points.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re leaving it in the
hands of other teams,” said Fitzgerald, “now, if Cal
wins their last two games, they’ll take the conference by one
point. If they tie or lose, we’ll take the conference by one
point.”

UCLA’s next game is Thursday against San Francisco State
at Drake Stadium.