LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men’s soccer program earned a 1-1 draw against CSU Bakersfield in the teams' home opener on Monday evening. After falling behind, the Bruins tied up the game in the 80th minute with a shot from outside the box by Francis Bonsu. 

UCLA (1-0-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten) enjoyed the majority of the possession, while CSU Bakersfield (1-0-1, 0-0-0 Big West) looked to counter throughout the match. The Bruins recorded a total of 19 shots, with six coming on target, while CSUB managed just three shots with one coming on target.

Victor Ciaurriz led the team with six shots, while Oshea Foster paced the Roadrunners with three shots in the match.

In the first few minutes, the Bruins put three shots on target, as Ciaurriz and Finot Pie both had great opportunities to open the scoring but had their shots go just wide of the frame.

In the 32nd minute, Oliver Roche took the ball out to the left corner and crossed it into the box. Sebastian Rincon attempted a shot but was well saved by the Bakersfield goalie. The half came to a close with another Victor Ciaurriz header attempt off of a corner kick, and the sides went into the halftime break tied at 1-1.

At the start of the second half, Rincon had a great opportunity to give the Bruins the lead, but his shot fell just wide of the goal after some nice play down the wing from Pie. In the 65th minute, substitute midfielder Tamir Ratoviz was able to get a foot on a shot from just outside the box, but his shot was saved by Zenden Hart once again, and the teams remained tied.

CSU Bakersfield’s Foster opened the scoring in the 72nd minute. The senior was played through on goal on a breakaway before beating UCA keeper Ryan Tiltack to the ball and put the Roadrunners in front 1-0.

The Bruins responded nine minutes later from their eighth corner of the night. Adrian Aguilar swung a ball in that found Bonsu at the top of the box, who knocked it into the bottom right corner, tying the game at 1-1 with just under 10 minutes to go.  

Neither team found a game-winner in the closing minutes, and the game ended in a draw.

Up Next: UCLA hosts Denver on Friday evening at 7 pm PT. The game will be broadcast on B1G+, and fans can buy tickets at uclabruins.com/tickets/.