UCLA men’s soccer suffers Sweet 16 loss to Vermont in NCAA Tournament
Redshirt sophomore midfielder Tucker Lepley reads the field with the ball. Lepley registered two shots in UCLA’s matchup against Vermont but neither found the back of the net as the Bruins were blanked by the Catamounts in the Sweet 16. (Jake Greenberg-Bell/Daily Bruin)
men’s soccer
| UCLA | 0 |
| Vermont | 3 |
By Lexi Grimes
Nov. 26, 2022 7:20 p.m.
This post was updated on Nov. 26 at 9:42 p.m.
The Bruins appeared out of their element in their final game of the season.
No. 19 UCLA men’s soccer (12-7-1, 4-4-1 Pac-12) faced No. 7 Vermont (16-3-2, 5-1-1 AE) in the NCAA Sweet 16 matchup on the road before a sold-out crowd and with snow in the shadow of the goalposts. The harsh conditions proved too much for the blue and gold to overcome, extinguishing its season after conceding three second-half goals to the Catamounts in the 3-0 blank.
The Bruins controlled the pace for the first 15 minutes of the game, with the action concentrated on Vermont’s half of the field. The first shot of the game came off redshirt sophomore midfielder Tucker Lepley’s leg in the 11th minute. The second shot of the matchup was also recorded by Lepley in the 22nd minute of the half after a Bruins’ corner kick.
However, the momentum of the game quickly pivoted, with Vermont recording its first shot in the 25th minute of the game. The teams had a much more even share of possession from then on. The Catamounts almost converted in the 33rd minute of the half, before sophomore defender Aaron Edwards snuck in to defend an empty net after sophomore goalkeeper Nate Crockford was beat.
A UCLA corner kick in the 40th minute gave the Bruins two more attempts on goal, but neither ball was able to find the back of the net. UCLA earned five corner kicks in the first frame alone, besting its 3.5 corner kicks averaged per contest on the season.
Coach Ryan Jorden said the Bruins were in control of the game in the first half and had the opportunity to get some goals, but, unfortunately, they were unable to follow through.
“I think in the first half we were by far the better team,” Jorden said. “But you need to make goals and we didn’t do that. We had a lot of great opportunities, we were making opportunities for our players, but we couldn’t get the goals.”
The second half got off to a much quicker start, with Vermont recording a shot on goal in the 49th minute and Edwards following up a minute later with a look for the Bruins. In the 55th minute, the Catamounts were finally able to get on the board, when a shot from outside the box sailed over Crockford and into the net.
The Bruins appeared unfazed after their opponents’ first score, having come from behind in both contests of the postseason. But the clock winded down from 20 minutes, and the blue and gold’s opportunities to extend its postseason whittled down with it.
Vermont followed up its first goal with two more in the second half, one in the 70th minute after a set piece off of a UCLA foul and another in the 86th minute when the ball rebounded off of Crockford’s leg.
The Bruins haven’t conceded three goals since the first week of September, in their nonconference matchup against Grand Canyon. They also haven’t been shut out in over a month. After overcoming the defending national champions in No. 6 Clemson to punch its Sweet 16 ticket against Vermont, the blue and gold’s uncharacteristic results on both ends of the field Saturday evening signaled the end of the season.
However, junior defender Tommy Silva still managed to remain optimistic about the results of UCLA’s season and the future of the team.
“We took a big step from last year,” Silva said. “We still made it farther than we did last year so that shows that each season we are improving, and so next year we will come back and be even better.”
