This post was updated Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m.

It all came down to the final penalty kick. 

Michigan goalkeeper Ethan Wood stood at the goal post as UCLA junior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi got set to shoot. 

With a chance to play in the final on the line, Karumanchi approached the spot as he targeted the ball at the bottom left of the net – but fate would eventually land in the hands of Wood.

“I was proud of our guys and the effort that they put in having to come from behind,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “That shows some good quality – just disappointed that we didn’t advance because of penalties.”

After a full regulation period, two overtime halves and nine penalty kicks, No. 6 seed UCLA men’s soccer (7-5-6, 3-4-3 Big Ten) fell to No. 7 seed Michigan (8-3-7, 2-3-5) in the Big Ten semifinal at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins entered the penalty kick period knotted at one but ultimately fell 4-2.

“We have the capability to score loads of goals,” graduate student defender Nicholas Cavallo said. “Today was one of those games where we had the chances and unfortunately – we couldn’t get the result that we wanted.”

With a save by sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson at the bottom center of the net just a minute into the contest, it was made evident that Jorden’s starting defensive formation had its back against the wall.

At the 20th minute mark, Michigan midfielder/forward Duilio Herrera passed the ball to defender/midfielder Bryce Blevins, who shot the ball across to forward/midfielder Uriel Zeitz, as he came through the Bruins open defensive slot and shot the ball off of his right foot, slipping it past Nelson’s gates and into the bottom center of the goal. 

As the cloudy skies lingered, the conclusion of the first half ended ill-fated.

But as the sun began to shine over the field at SeatGeek Stadium, the Bruins finally lit up the scoresheet. 

“We switched formation to better match up with them,” Cavallo said. “We did a better job of holding the ball in the second half and getting into areas that we wanted to be in – the wind played a little bit of a factor in that.”

At the 53rd minute mark, a foul on senior forward Andre Ochoa gave the Bruins a chance to equalize. Redshirt senior forward Jose Contell stood at the spot and shot the ball off of his left foot right into the hands of Wood. Despite missing the first attempt, Contell followed up through the open gap left by Wood, and sent the ball into the back of the bottom center of the goal, equalizing the match at one a piece. 

“When we came out for the second half – we knew that we were going to have one chance to score,” Contell said. “Finally, it was through this PK that we equaled the score.” 

Fouls, shots and yellow cards accumulated in the second half as both sides continued to push against a deadlock. Ultimately, the match went to overtime as fate teetered on the edge. 

With the score tied at 1-1, Michigan looked to be the aggressor throughout the second half with UCLA constantly on its heels. Defensively, Wood made his first appearance in net for Michigan since Sept. 6 against Detroit Mercy, and played the full 110 minutes with three saves, including two in the penalty kick period. 

Despite the Wolverines persistent attack, the Bruins were able to parry their offensive advances, doing everything they could to make it to the conclusion of regulation – but to no avail. 

With both teams set for combat at the toss of a coin, overtime began.

“There is no pressure – this is something that we’ve been working on during the whole week,” Contell said. “You’re going to pick a spot, believe in yourself and be hard.”

Substitutions and formation shifts opened small slots of opportunity as the Bruins began to capitalize on their opportunities and gain more possession. However, 10 minutes went by in the first overtime period with no shots taken on the Wolverines net. 

Five minutes remained in the second half of overtime, as a first-time shot by Michigan defender/midfielder Jason Bucknor deflected off Nelson’s near post and fell to freshman defender Allan Legaspi who punted the ball out of bounds. Bucknor hit the pitch in frustration as the seesaw of fate returned to a balanced position. 

Overtime ended with no scores lighting up the stat sheet as the match turned to penalties to decide the outcome.

“The toughest thing in this game is scoring goals,” Jorden said. “Unfortunately today, we missed wide or hit a ball at the goalkeeper that didn’t force a big save.”

In the end, the Bruins fell 4-2 in penalties, marking the end of the road at the Big Ten tournament. They will have to wait till Nov. 18 where the NCAA tournament selection show will decide their postseason fate.

“Every game is do or die,” Contell said. “At the end of the game, the result is going to tell us if we can play one more game together – or if we are done.”