University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
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VCU
UCLA Tops VCU, 2-1, at Home
September 26, 2015 | Men's Soccer
LOS ANGELES – A second-half penalty kick from Larry Ndjock proved to be the difference as UCLA took down VCU, 2-1, on Friday evening at Drake Stadium. For the third game in-a-row, Seyi Adekoya also got on the board with his fourth goal of the season.
“We got the result tonight behind some good goals,” said UCLA Head Coach Jorge Salcedo. “Both goals, I thought, were well taken. Maybe we could have scored a few more goals tonight, but we'll take the win and get ourselves ready to play again on Sunday.”
VCU (2-6-1) got the scoring started early, taking the lead just six minutes into the contest. After earning a corner, Jason McGlothern sent a bending cross into the box where Dakota Barnathan was there to finish. The 6-foot-2 junior found a pocket of space at the far post and redirected the McGlothern cross into the back of the net to put the Rams up, 1-0.
UCLA (3-4-0) responded well and took control of the game for the remainder of the period. Adekoya was denied of the equalizer in the 17th minute when he produced an excellent chance in close, but eventually found the tying goal 13 minutes later for the Bruin attack. Freshman Erik Holt fed a long ball into Adekoya's feet above the top left corner of the penalty area to get the play started. The sophomore striker then turned towards the center of the pitch and attacked towards the right post. Speeding to his right, Adekoya went across his body to finish back to the lower left side and bring UCLA even at one with VCU.
At the half, UCLA was out-shooting VCU, 8-3, and had earned three corners to the Rams' two.
The Bruins continued their offensive domination early in the second half, controlling much of the possession in the offensive third. 11 minutes into the second period, Ndjock ran onto a marvelous through ball from Jose Hernandez to get in alone on the VCU keeper. The senior striker took a brilliant touch to the right of the charging goalkeeper, but was tripped in the process, resulting in his second penalty kick in as many games. Ndjock did not waste his opportunity, blasting his shot into the lower left corner to put UCLA up by a tally.
Following the go-ahead goal, the Rams began to push more men forward in hopes of a late tying score. VCU almost earned that goal in the 66th minute, when Luc Fatton had a golden opportunity in close. After a header was put over Juan Cervantes' head, Grady Howe proceeded to clear it off of the goal line weakly towards a waiting Fatton. The sophomore then took a hard right-footed strike from just a few yards out, but his attempt went sailing wide, wasting the best opportunity for VCU. The Bruin defense stayed locked in for the rest of the game and sealed a 2-1 victory in front of the home crowd.
Overall, UCLA out-shot VCU, 13-7, marking the fifth time in seven games that the Bruins have out-shot their opponent. Cervantes finished with one save, while VCU goalkeeper Pierre Gardan racked up three.
The Bruins close their home stand this Sunday, September 27 when they take on the UC Irvine Anteaters at 7:00pm PT at Drake Stadium. The game can be seen live on the Pac-12 Networks and listened to live on uclabruins.com. Tickets for all home matches are available and can be purchased by visiting uclabruins.com/tickets or by calling 310-UCLA-WIN.
