UCLA Dominant in 3-0 Victory over No. 17 Oregon State

Los Angeles, Calif. – The UCLA Bruins moved into first place in the Pac-12 conference standings with a resounding 3-0 victory over the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday night at Drake Stadium. Two goals from freshman Abu Danladi and one from junior Larry Ndjock helped extend the Bruins streak of 18 straight matches without a defeat against the Beavers.

“We did the job that was needed tonight to bookend the Washington result,” said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. “This puts us in a good spot in the conference after the half-way point. We will continue to work on getting better with some of the things that need improvement and most importantly we are happy with the six points on the weekend.”

After an inauspicious start from both sides, Danladi got the scoring started for the Bruins in the 30th minute. Freshman left back Chase Gasper sent a long ball from his own half deep into Oregon State territory where Danladi held off the defender and poked the ball past the charging Beavers goalkeeper. The Ghanaian controlled the ball and finished into the empty net for his second goal of the season.

Nine minutes later, it was a long ball again that got the play started for Danladi’s second goal of the game and third of the season. Junior center back Edgar Contreras launched a ball from his own penalty area up the middle of the field to the feet of Leo Stolz. Stolz proceeded to find a streaking Danladi who took one touch and finished cleverly into the bottom left corner of the net to put the Bruins up two at the half.

Ndjock would notch the third tally of the night for UCLA off of a rebound inside the six-yard box in the 69th minute. The Bruins created a quick three on two counter-attack that saw freshman Christian Chavez leading the charge down the right sideline. Chavez slid a pass across to Jordan Vale whose attempt on net was saved, but Ndjock was there on the doorstep to finish it off for his fourth goal of the season.

UCLA (8-3-3, 3-1-1 in the Pac-12) was dominant in all facets of the game tonight. The Bruins totaled a season-high nine shots on goal, seven of which came in the second half. Additionally they only allowed one shot on goal from the Beavers, garnering a seventh shutout this season for senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

Oregon State (8-5-1, 1-3-1 in the Pac-12) was fortunate to have not allowed more goals to the humming Bruin attackers. UCLA had several chances in the second half to add on to their already comfortable three-goal lead. Most notably, Gage Zerboni had two chances from inside the penalty area, but was unable to direct either shot on target. Furthermore, Vale had arguably the best chance in the 75th minute when an Andrew Tusaazemajja cross found him all alone on the back post, but his touch directed the ball just wide of the frame. Chavez had several chances as well, including a dart that shot off the wood work and bounced away from the goal.

In total, UCLA outshot Oregon State 15-5 and nine to one in shots on goal. Additionally, 20 Bruin players saw the pitch tonight, allowing several of the heavily used players to rest in the second half.

UCLA will make their last road trip of the season next weekend when they head to Washington to take on the Huskies on Thursday, October 23. Kick-off is set for 7:30pm and the game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.