UCLA men’s soccer team’s loss ends 10-game unbeaten streak
Senior midfielder Michael Stephens during a game against Stanford Oct. 18.
By Brantley Watson
Oct. 25, 2009 10:53 p.m.
What a difference a week makes.
Having gone the last month-and-a-half without suffering a defeat, the UCLA men’s soccer team was handed its second loss of the season on Sunday, falling 2-0 on the road against the Stanford Cardinal, a team that the Bruins defeated 2-0 a week before.
On Friday, the No. 2 Bruins took down the Cal Bears for the second time in seven days, but UCLA was unable to complete the season sweep of the two Bay Area teams with Sunday’s blip.
“We’re definitely disappointed,” UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said after Sunday’s match. “With our performance last week, winning both games, we’re a little disappointed. We didn’t play as well as we hoped, and some things didn’t go our way today.”
During their unbeaten streak, which spanned 10 games, the Bruins tallied eight wins, including a five-game and three-game win streak, and two ties. Prior to Sunday’s defeat, the Bruins’ last loss occurred at Georgetown on Sept. 6, two days after UCLA took down the nation’s then-No. 1 Maryland Terrapins.
On a positive note for the Bruins, the loss at No. 21 Stanford does not affect their position in the Pac-10 standings, as the Bruins remain atop the leaderboard.
“Even though we lost, we’re still in first in the Pac-10 and still in control,” Salcedo said. “We’ll deal with this loss and deal with any other things as the week goes by.”
One thing that Sunday’s match certainly provided was an abundance of offense, as both teams totaled 34 shots in all. However, according to Salcedo, the Bruins were unable to capitalize on any of their scoring opportunities, which turned out to be the difference in the match.
“We had some great chances in the first half but unfortunately we didn’t finish,” Salcedo said. “We just didn’t finish today.”
The Cardinal scored the first goal of the match in the 55th minute of play when junior midfielder Bobby Warshaw converted a header into the Bruins goal off of a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Garrett Gunther. Twenty minutes later, in the 75th minute, Stanford struck once again on a breakaway goal by redshirt senior forward Evan Morgan.
Despite the upset loss, Salcedo credited his team for its impressive unbeaten streak, but expressed that he, along with his guys, are hurt to see it come to an end.
“Not losing for six or seven weeks was a good job by the guys, but we’re definitely disappointed,” Salcedo said.
The Bruins have a bye week in Pac-10 play this week and will play their final three Pac-10 games at home. Next up for UCLA is a nonconference game against Creighton in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday.
