Nov. 28, 1999

ST. LOUIS - UCLA eliminated third-seeded Saint Louis University 2-0 in a second round NCAA Tournament match before 3,055 this afternoon at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. McKinley Tennyson Jr. netted the game winner as the Bruins moved on to a quarterfinal date at Virginia.

"We knew that we had our work cut out for us coming here, because we knew Saint Louis had a great season and we'd have to get serious to come out with a great result," said UCLA head coach Todd Saldana. "We did what we had to do to get it done. Once we got control of the game, we were able to play better soccer."

Despite Saint Louis' 3-to-2 advantage in shots at the intermission, the Bruins had the better of the play throughout the first half. Tennyson got UCLA on the board at 35:44 on a breakaway off a perfect pass from midfielder Pete Vagenas. "I was trying to play forward and get behind the defenders," Tennyson said. "Pete is a great midfielder. He found me, and I was able to finish it."

Saint Louis turned up the pressure, and the Billikens' only good opportunity in the first half came less than two minutes after Tennyson's goal. Jason Mims' 20-yard drive sailed just over the cross bar. "At this level of play, you only get a few chances in each match," Billikens head coach Bob Warming said. "And you better finish those opportunities. We weren't able to do that today."

Bruins co-captain Sasha Victorine iced the game at 63:02 on a scramble in front of the Billiken net off a free kick. Victorine's first shot hit the cross bar and came down on the goal line. Billiken keeper Paul Nagy knocked that away, but Victorine corralled the loose ball and popped it in from four yards. "All season long, we have been working on our set plays to send the ball back across when it goes long," Victorine said. "Carlos Bocanegra sent me a great ball, and my first shot hit the post. Some how, it found its way back to me."

With Saint Louis trailing by a pair of goals, the Billikens began to apply some pressure as they moved more people forward. In the 78th minute, Bruins keeper Nick Rimando denied Nick Walls' shot from 12 yards. In the 80th minute, Rimando stopped SLU forward Jason Vijil from 10 yards. The Billikens had a pair of corner kicks in between those two shots, but couldn't get anything out of them.

UCLA (18-2-0) advances to face Virginia in the quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Cavaliers downed Brown 3-1 to advance. "The good thing about traveling is that it gives the team a chance to spend time together," Saldana said. "Through these trips, we've become a tightly knit group. We're able to stay away from the distractions and turn the traveling into a positive."

UCLA out-shot the Billikens 9-to-7 as Rimando had to make only three saves to post his seventh shutout. Nagy made four stops for the Bills. Conference USA regular-season co-champions, the Billikens finished 17-4-2.

FINAL SCORE: UCLA 2 SAINT LOUIS 0
UCLA 35:44 McKinley Tennyson Jr. breakaway from Pete Vagenas
UCLA 63:02 Sasha Victorine 4-yd rebound from Carlos Bocanegra
SHOTS - UCLA - 9, SLU - 7
CORNERS - UCLA - 7, SLU - 3
SAVES - UCLA - 3 (Rimando), SLU - 4 (Nagy)
FOULS - UCLA - 27, SLU - 15
OFFSIDES - UCLA - 1, SLU - 1
ATTENDANCE - 3,055