UCLA
Syracuse
Short-handed Bruin Soccer Team Defeats Syracuse 2-1
September 05, 1999 | Men's Soccer
Despite playing a man down for the last 57 minutes of the game, the third-ranked UCLA men's soccer team defeated Syracuse 2-1 at the Cal State Fullerton FILA Classic. The Bruins went 2-0 in the season-opening tournament, while the Orangemen were 0-2.
UCLA received its first goal in the 31st minute from junior forward McKinley Tennyson, Jr. before he was sent to the locker room just three minutes later with his second yellow card of the game, forcing the Bruins to play short-handed with just 10 men on the field. Junior midfielder Shaun Tsakiris added an insurance goal in the 76th minute when his direct free kick found the bottom left corner of the net. Tsakiris' goal proved decisive when Syracuse's Patrice Bernier headed a lob pass from Ryan Daughtridge past UCLA goalkeper Nick Rimando with a little more than a minute left in the contest.
UCLA dominated the game, tallying 19 shots to Syracuse's five. The Bruins limited the Orangemen to just one shot in the first half.
"One of the important things was getting a goal for McKinley, although I was disappointed at having to play without him (after he received his second yellow card of the game," said UCLA head coach Todd Saldana. "But it forced us to dig down more and challenge ourselves. It forced us to work hard and stay organized. We also got offensive production from another player we expected to see more offense from this year - Shaun Tsakiris. Outside of the one defensive error, I felt we played strong defensively."
Tennyson will miss UCLA's next match, which is against Florida International Friday, Sept. 10 in Miami, FL at 4:30 pm PT.
Cal State Fullerton (1-0) faces Denver (0-1) in a 7 pm match and must win by seven or more goals to deny UCLA the championship of the tournament on goal differential.
