UCLA
Washington
No. 14 UCLA Upsets No. 1 Washington in Clash of Conference Foes
October 17, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Los Angeles, Calif. – The No. 14 UCLA Bruins upset the No. 1 Washington Huskies, 2-1, in front of 1,869 strong at Drake Stadium on Thursday night. First half goals from Leo Stolz and Seyi Adekoya proved enough for the Bruins who were forced to play much of the second half a man down.
Stolz, UCLA's leading scorer, claimed the opening tally of the game in the 15th minute on a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that sailed into the top of the net. Freshman striker Abu Danladi fed Stolz who used his cushion of space to lean back and bury the shot for his sixth goal of the season.
10 minutes later, following a Huskies goal from Josh Heard that brought the game level, it was Adekoya who delivered the eventual game-winner for the Bruins. Stolz found Adekoya in the center of the penalty area and the Seattle native did not disappoint with an accurate strike into the bottom right corner for his second goal of the year.
“Tonight was the first time all season that we got to put out the group that I thought was our best in the attack,” said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. “We've had a lot of injuries throughout the season and tonight was a great first step with the group that I feel can be our best attacking group. It's a great win; we absolutely deserve the 2-1 victory.”
UCLA (7-3-3, 2-1-1 in the Pac-12) came out strong on the offensive attack, creating numerous quality chances on net in the first half. Just six minutes in, Brian Iloski led the dangerous Adekoya in behind the last line of defense for Washington, but a blatant take down from defender Justin Schmidt halted his progress and earned the Huskies' defender an early booking. In a true back-and-forth half, the team's combined for 15 shots and three goals, all of which were scored within a span of 10 minutes of game action.
“The first half was a very good first half,” said Salcedo. “We had a lot of dynamic attacks, a lot of great ball movement. We rotated the ball from side to side, broke them down and scored a couple of great goals.”
Washington (9-2-1, 2-2-1 in the Pac-12) would gain the upper hand early in the second half when Adekoya was shown his second yellow card in the 54th minute, disqualifying him from the match. Playing with the extra attacker, the Huskies took advantage by pressing the Bruins and sending more players forward into the offensive third. Iloski made a crucial clearance off of the goal line for UCLA in the 65th minute when a Washington corner was deflected on net past goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. The sophomore midfielder headed the ball away from the net just before it crossed the goal line, preserving the lead and eventually the win for UCLA.
The victory brings the Bruins streak to four straight matches without a defeat against Washington. In addition, UCLA now moves into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 conference standings with Washington and Stanford.
UCLA will look to continue their momentum on Sunday October 19 when they host the No. 17 Oregon State Beavers at 5:00pm PT. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
Note: Due to the red card issued to Seyi Adekoya, he will be forced to sit out the Bruins next match.
