UCLA men’s soccer falls to Washington despite second-half rally
Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Kirberg jumps to attempt a save during UCLA men’s soccer’s loss to No. 3 Washington on Thursday evening. Kirberg made a career-high 10 saves in the match. (Brendan Swart/Daily Bruin)
Men's soccer
| No. 3 Washington | 3 |
| UCLA | 0 |
By Lexi Grimes
Nov. 5, 2021 7:10 p.m.
The Bruins have failed to win any of their past three games.
UCLA men’s soccer (8-6-1, 3-4-1 Pac-12) lost 3-0 to No. 3 Washington (13-1-1, 5-1-1) at home Thursday night. This defeat marked the Bruins’ second loss of the season to the Huskies, to whom they also lost to in Seattle on Oct. 3.
Washington started the game with four shots in the first four minutes off two corner kicks. In the seventh minute of play, the Huskies were once again attacking the goal when senior goalkeeper Justin Garces suffered a head injury. Garces would miss the rest of the game, with sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Kirberg taking over in net.
Sophomore defender Tommy Silva said losing their team captain early in the match affected the Bruins’ morale.
“Justin is a true leader,” Silva said. “He’s the base of our team, so I think losing him early was a big hit for us.”
The Huskies continued to create scoring opportunities in the first half, with two UCLA fouls leading to two Washington set pieces in the 10th and 11th minutes of play. In contrast, the Bruins were not able to record a shot until the 14th minute of the game.
Washington was able to capitalize on one of its many first-half opportunities in the 22nd minute when midfielder Dylan Teves had a breakaway and snuck the ball past Kirberg along the left edge of the net.
By the end of the first half, the Huskies had recorded 14 shots, eight of which were on goal. The Bruins, on the other hand, posted four shots but had a higher level of accuracy with 75% of their shots being on goal.
Coming out of the halftime break with a deficit, UCLA had a chance to equalize in the 62nd minute. Silva fired a ball into the upper left corner of the goal, but the shot was saved by goalkeeper Sam Fowler.
During the next two minutes of play, the ball rarely left the Huskies’ 18-yard box, with the Bruins tallying six shots. The possession eventually culminated in a UCLA free kick that went just left of the goal and gave Washington a chance to clear the ball.
Coach Ryan Jorden said while none of his team’s shots were converted into goals, he was very proud of how the Bruins responded coming out of halftime.
“We had a really poor first half,” Jorden said. “But by the 65th-minute mark, I think it was 17 to 13 shots. Our response coming out of halftime was very, very good. We played our way back into (the game).”
UCLA continued to attack but was ultimately unable to get on the scoreboard. Washington scored two more goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation and ended the night with a total of 14 shots on goal.
Kirberg, who had a career-high 10 saves, said he would have have preferred the win over personal accolades.
“We lost at the end of the day, so I’m not worried about the saves,” Kirberg said. “I’m worried about the three goals against.”
With the loss, UCLA remains in third place in the Pac-12, one point ahead of Stanford. UCLA has two conference games remaining on its schedule, including Sunday’s home matchup against No. 2 Oregon State.
