UCLA
Oregon State
No. 6 UCLA Defeats Oregon State for Fourth Straight Victory
October 26, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Corvallis, Ore. – The UCLA Bruins earned their fourth straight victory with a 2-1 result against Oregon State on Sunday at Paul Lorenz Field. Goals from Andrew Tusaazemajja and Larry Ndjock helped the Bruins extend their streak to 19 straight games without a defeat against the Beavers.
“The team had a solid road trip that yielded six points from Washington and Oregon State,” said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. “The team adjusted well to the elements and performed at a high level. The only disappointment was losing the highly talented Nathan Smith with a broken leg.”
UCLA (10-3-3, 5-1-1 in the Pac-12) started the game quickly by getting a goal in the eighth minute of action from Tusaazemajja, his second of the year. After earning a corner, Leo Stolz played the ball into the penalty area where it was initially cleared away by a Beavers defender. Tusaazemajja, unmarked, took the ball off of one bounce and launched it from 18 yards out into the upper corner on the left side of the frame to put the Bruins ahead.
The remainder of the first half was relatively quiet for both sides with the Beavers out-shooting UCLA 6-4 in the opening 45 minutes. However, UCLA held the edge in shots on target 3-2 and entered the break up by one.
The Bruins, much like the first half, struck quickly with another goal early in the second half from Ndjock, his fifth of the season. In the 51st minute, freshman Seyi Adekoya squeezed a nifty through ball between two defenders into the penalty area ahead of Ndjock. The German-native took one touch and chipped it over the sprawling body of Oregon State goalkeeper Matt Bersano to give UCLA the two-goal advantage.
Oregon State (9-6-1, 2-4-1 in the Pac-12) would however get on the board late in the game to foil the hopes of a shutout for goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. and the Bruins. In the 84th minute, Jalen Markey played a cross into the 18-yard box where freshman Timmy Meuller was waiting to head it in for his tenth goal of the season.
Despite the late concession, the Bruins were strong yet again on the backline, anchored by a three-save performance from Edwards Jr. UCLA was out-shot 8-1 in the second 45 minute period, but the defensive effort allowed the Bruins to win their fourth-straight and extend their lead in the Pac-12 conference standings.
This marks the final road game of the regular season for UCLA where they racked up a 7-2-1 record in their 10 matches away from Westwood. Additionally, the Bruins went 4-1-1 against ranked opponents on the road.
UCLA will return home to face Stanford on Thursday, October 30 at 8:00pm PT. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks and fans can follow live audio and stats on UCLABruins.com.
