Men’s soccer fails to secure a win in game against Oregon State
Redshirt senior defender Matthew Powell scored the Bruins’ first goal in UCLA men’s soccer’s 3-2 loss to Oregon State on Senior Night. Playing in his last home match as a Bruin, Powell’s goal was good for his second of the season. (Joe Akira/Daily Bruin staff)
Men's soccer
| Oregon State | 3 |
| UCLA | 2 |
By Marcus Veal
Oct. 28, 2019 12:00 a.m.
The Bruins will need to win each of their three remaining games – all on the road – to be eligible for an at-large bid to the tournament.
UCLA men’s soccer (5-8-2, 1-5-1 Pac-12) dropped a 3-2 decision to Oregon State (7-5-1, 4-2-1) on Sunday on Senior Day, despite the Bruins putting up 10 more shots than the Beavers.
“We created a ton of opportunities, we just failed to put the finishing touches on a lot of them,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “Even though we outshot them 15-5, I would say that we probably missed opportunities to tack on another six or so chances. Credit to Oregon State for getting the result, but I think we didn’t execute well enough to get that result ourselves.”
UCLA had the first chance of the game for a goal in the fifth minute.
Junior forward Milan Iloski had the ball out right by the corner of the box. He fed it to senior midfielder Alexis Triadis in stride but a defender stuck his leg out in time for the deflection.
On the ensuing possession, Oregon State delivered the first score of the match. Midfielder Joel Walker had the ball atop the box and a give-and-go allowed him a one-on-one opportunity with junior defender Ben Reveno along the right side. His cross found the unmarked Beaver forward Gloire Amanda, whose header put the Beavers on the board.
The Bruins collected five more attempts before the halftime break, including one that redshirt senior defender Matthew Powell capitalized on for the equalizer in the 43rd minute.
On a corner kick, freshman defender Constantinos Michaelides elected for the short pass to sophomore midfielder Riley Ferch, who sent a cross to a crowded box. With the defender pinned behind him, Powell redirected the ball to the bottom right corner of the net with a corner of his own for his second goal of the season.
“I just pulled off the backpost knowing that the ball was going to get whipped in and (Ferch) can put the ball right on your head,” Powell said. “It always feels good to get a goal, but you want to get the win too, especially on Senior Day. You want to go out the right way, but it didn’t happen.”
Oregon State then jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the 64th minute.
Walker attacked the right side of the box in the 64th minute and sent a ground pass across the front of the six-meter box to defender Adrian Crespo for the goal.
Five minutes later, Walker grabbed his sixth goal of the year as Oregon State extended its lead by two. With a free ball escaping the box, it was a race between Walker and UCLA sophomore goalkeeper Justin Garces. Walker got there first and tapped it in to the empty net.
UCLA cut the deficit in half with a penalty kick from Iloski in the 78th minute. Oregon State goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez dove the correct way, but Iloski’s penalty beat Fernandez for his 16th goal of the season.
The Bruins made five attempts at the goal in the last five minutes of the game, but couldn’t grab a second equalizing goal.
“We put ourselves back into it with (Powell’s goal) but the second and third goals we gave up hurt us,” Ferch said. “We always kept fighting and that’s what I see in the future. I see a team that will fight for every game, but we just didn’t have it today.”
