UCLA
6-4-0, 2-1-0
Washington
5-5-0, 0-2-0
UCLA Shuts Out Washington 1-0
October 04, 2018 | Men's Soccer
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's soccer team recorded a solid 1-0 win over Washington on Thursday night in its first conference game at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
The victory boosted the Bruins' record to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. Washington dropped to 5-5, 0-2. The contest was part of a doubleheader with the UCLA women's team, which prevailed 3-1 over Arizona State in the opener.
The first half was full of drama, with potential goals wiped off for both teams, but ultimately the Bruins came away with the lone score of the half. With the one-goal lead, UCLA did a good job in the second half of controlling the game and holding the Huskies without many scoring chances.
"I was very pleased with our mentality and attitude to take shots and create dangerous moments," said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. "I was proud that we came back after losing our second game in the Bay Area and put in a good performance in our first Pac-12 game here at home."
Sophomore forward Milan Iloski scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 23rd minute. Facing a six-man wall on a 20-yard free kick, Iloski shot low and to the right of the wall. Washington keeper Saif Kerawala was slow to react to the shot, and the one-hop laser ended up inside the left post.
23': UCLA goal!
— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 5, 2018
Milan Iloski shows how to take a free kick, and the Bruins lead 1-0.
Tune in now on the Pac-12 Network!#GoBruins | #UCLAvsWASH pic.twitter.com/F5Xh1fNIRF
That was one of several dramatic moments in the opening 45.
UCLA missed a chance to go ahead a few minutes before the free kick goal as Iloski was dragged down in the box for a penalty kick, but the Bruins missed the spot kick. UCLA looked like it had doubled its lead in the 34th minute as sophomore midfielder Andrew Paoli pounced on an Iloski rebound and tapped it into the net. However, he was ultimately deemed offside on a close call.
Washington had its best chance to equalize early on in the second half, as Blake Bodily made a run down the right side in the 47th minute for a potential 1 v 1 with UCLA freshman keeper Justin Garces, who came out to challenge the play and eventually made a solid sliding stop of a Bodily shot.
47': This beautiful save from Justin Garces preserves the one-goal lead for UCLA!#GoBruins | #UCLAvsWASH pic.twitter.com/CBiHVgiJZV
— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 5, 2018
Though the Huskies managed a respectable five shots over the remainder of the second half, only two of those reached Garces and neither required out-of-the-ordinary saves.
Garces, who matched his season-high with four saves en route to his second shutout, did a good job of commanding his box, punching away several service attempts from Washington, which doubled up UCLA 6-3 in corner kicks.
The win represented the Bruins' first clean sheet at home since an opening day 2-0 win over San Diego.
Illoski has now scored two goals in his last three games, both game-winners. He missed the first month of a season due to an appendectomy and didn't make his debut until Sept. 22.
Paoli made his first start of the year and third appearance, totaling a season-high 58 minutes on the pitch.
UCLA is right back in action on Sunday in another doubleheader with the women's program. The men tackle Oregon State at 12:00 p.m. while the women take on Arizona at 3:00 p.m. Both contests will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
Listen to @milaniloski123's post-game interview after netting the game-winning goal in Thursday night's win over Washington!https://t.co/yNXdvApog7#GoBruins
— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 5, 2018
Team Stats
Iloski, Milan (2)
Free kick from top of the box
22:48
