The Bruins weathered the Cardinal’s storm of shots to escape with a conference season-opening draw.
No. 14 UCLA men’s soccer (3-2-1, 0-0-1 Pac-12) stopped its run of losses on Thursday night and earned a substantial result against No. 2 Stanford (4-0-2, 0-0-1 Pac-12), tying the contest 0-0. Sophomore goalkeeper Nate Crockford made a game-high four saves and helped the Bruins not concede a goal, despite the Cardinal’s 15 shots on the night.
After conceding two and three goals against Grand Canyon and Portland, respectively, UCLA buckled down and earned a clean sheet against Stanford.
The Bruins’ offense, on the other hand, only created two clear chances in the match – both of which were shots from junior defender Tommy Silva – and it caused the defense to play on its backfoot all night long.
Crockford’s performance between the sticks still helped UCLA come away from the match with a positive result. 12 corner kicks and six free kicks throughout the contest allowed the Cardinal to continuously push forward threatening to score.
However, the 6-foot-4 keeper’s performance in the second half kept the match scoreless.
In the 81st minute, Stanford forward Liam Doyle was played through down the right side of the penalty box and fired a shot. The ball curled towards the back post, but Crockford got a glove on it and pushed it aside for a corner.
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A quick reaction save by Crockford in the final minute of the match secured the Bruins’ scoreless fate, but confirmed that UCLA would not begin conference play with a loss.
Since scoring five goals against Liberty on Sept. 2, the blue and gold have only been able to score a total of two goals in their past three matches.
Outshot against Portland and Stanford consecutively, forwards Kevin Diaz, Andres Ochoa, Constantinos Michaelides and Jose Contell have only combined for three shots in those matchups.
UCLA had six fouls and one yellow card compared to Stanford’s 11 and three.
The Bruins will return to action Sunday afternoon for their second Pac-12 showdown of the year on the road against Cal. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Networks and is scheduled to kick off at 4 pm
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS
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