1985 NCAA Championship

1985 NCAA Championship

The 1985 Bruin squad won its first NCAA title with a record-setting eight overtime 1-0 victory over American University in the NCAA Championship game at the Kingdome in Seattle, WA.

UCLA lost just one game in 1985, a 2-1 loss against Fresno State. The Bruins, however, never looked back, winning or tying the remaining 13 games of the regular season. In the NCAA playoffs, UCLA, as the Far West's top seed, defeated California 3-1 in the first round, UNLV 1-0 in overtime in the second round and SMU 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

In the Final Four, the Bruin defense, led by Paul Krumpe, Eric Biefeld, Paul Caligiuri and goalkeeper David Vanole, was masterful, allowing just one goal in 256 minutes, while the offense, led by Dale Ervine with four post-season goals and Mike Getchell with four assists, was opportune. After first defeating Evansville 3-1 in the semifinals, UCLA advanced to the finals for the first time in head coach Sigi Schmid's tenure.


Dale Ervine, Paul Krumpe and Paul Caliguiri hold the 1985 NCAA Championship trophy.

The championship game turned out to be one for the ages, as the Bruins and American University battled it out for a record 166 minutes, five seconds. Both defenses were impenetrable, with Vanole stopping 10 shots on goal in the first half alone, while UCLA was able to muster up just two shots in the first half. Throughout the game, Vanole made six game-saving saves. Finally, nearly four hours after the initial whistle blew, defender Andy Burke ended the longest-ever NCAA championship game when he received a pass from Krumpe, caught the American goalkeeper cheating to the near post and shot it into the far post to score his first ever goal as a Bruin.