UCLA
San Diego State
Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season With 1-1 Tie Against San Diego State
November 14, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 14, 2007
Los Angeles, Calif. - The UCLA men's soccer finished its regular season with a 1-1 tie against San Diego State on Wednesday night, leaving the Bruins waiting it out for a possible NCAA berth with an 8-8-3 overall record. Kyle Nakazawa scored the Bruins' goal in the 34th minute, but San Diego State tied the game in the 54th minute on a follow-up shot by Matt McManus after Bruin goalkeeper Brian Perk saved Kraig Chiles' penalty kick.
The game was an offensive showcase, with San Diego State totaling 20 shots and UCLA recording 12 despite the absence of attacking midfielder Jason Leopoldo, who left the game after just 24 minutes with an ankle sprain. Both Perk and Aztec goalkeeper Jorge Rosales made six saves in the game.
Nakazawa got UCLA on the board at 33:11. On a 50/50 challenge by Michael Stephens and an Aztec defender, the ball came out to Nakazawa, who one-timed a low-lined shot from 32 yards into the bottom left corner of the goal for his second score of the season.
San Diego State evened things up in the 54th minute. At 53:43, the Aztecs were awarded a penalty kick after a shot by Dennis Sanchez hit the arm of a Bruin defender, who was whistled for a handball in the box. Chiles lined up for the penalty kick, but his shot was stopped by a diving Perk. McManus, however, swooped in on the left side to collect the rebound and fired far post for the equalizer.
UCLA nearly pulled ahead again minutes later, but a Maxwell Griffin goal was nullified by an offsides call in the 57th minute. In the 72nd minute, a Chance Myers long-range shot missed just high, and in the 80th minute, Myers had a near-miss on a cross that just went out of the reach of Griffin in front of the goal. Perk made some good saves to keep San Diego State off the board, stopping a shot by Evan Toft in front of the goal in the 80th minute and making a save on a Sanchez shot in the 88th minute. San Diego State had an excellent chance to move ahead at 88:23 when Perk was yellow-carded for holding the ball too long, giving the Aztecs an indirect free kick near the Bruin goal, but Toft's shot hit the crossbar, and Nick Collins' rebound shot sailed high, keeping the score knotted at the end of regulation.
The Bruins opened fire early in the first overtime period, with Nakazawa unleashing shots on free kicks in the 91st and 93rd minutes that Rosales made saves on. On the second saved free kick, Griffin got a foot on the rebound, but his shot from a tough angle went wide. David Estrada had two shots saved by Rosales in the first overtime as well. In the 96th minute, Toft again had a shot stopped by Perk, and Brad Rusin blocked the follow-up shot attempt by Khadim Diouf. The Bruins' last chance for the win came in the 108th minute, but Rosales made a fingertip save on a Myers shot.
UCLA finishes the regular season 8-8-3 and 4-4-2 in the Pac-10. The Bruins are currently in second place in the conference with 14 points and can finish no lower than tied for third. UCLA, which is ranked 29th in the most recent RPI, is hoping for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"Our chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament with a win tonight would have been good, and this tie does lessen our chances and puts us in a situation where our fate is in the hands of the NCAA committee," said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. "But overall we had a very difficult schedule this year, one of the Top 5 in the country, I believe, and we had some quality wins with a 3-1 victory over Big Ten champion Ohio State and a shutout win over Pac-10 champion Cal. There have been a handful of teams who have gotten into the tournament in previous years with a .500 record, so it wouldn't be completely out of the ordinary. There has been precedent for it."
The NCAA selection show will take place on Monday, Nov. 19 at 2:30 pm PT on ESPNews.
