Cal Drops 2-1 Result At UCLA

LOS ANGELES – Freshman forward Shoei Honda scored his second goal of the season, but it wasn't enough as the Cal men's soccer team lost to UCLA, 2-1, on Sunday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium, in a game broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
The Golden Bears' record stands at 2-4-1 (0-2-0 in the Pac-12), while UCLA is 5-2-0 (2-0-0 Pac-12).
 
UCLA took a 1-0 lead on a 21st-minute goal by Tucker Lepley.
 
Cal sophomore Wyatt Meyer almost equalized about two minutes later, when he connected with a Christian Gomez cross inside the six-yard box but caromed his shot off the far post.
 
The Bruins got their second goal in the 40th minute from Tommy Silva.
 
The Bears scored in the 43rd minute when Evan Davila slipped a pass to Honda inside the top of UCLA's box, and the freshman forward converted a first-time shot to give Cal momentum heading into halftime.
 
But the Bears didn't produce many good scoring chances in the last 45 minutes, against UCLA's stingy defense. In the 70th minute, Cal's Alonzo Del Mundo fired from long range, but goalkeeper Justin Garces made the save. An opportunity arose late, as Davila crossed into the box, looking for Jack Singer at the far post in the 88th minute. But the cross didn't connect.
 
"Once again, there were a number of great moments and individual performances tonight," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "The energy from the group has been stellar, and we need to push ourselves and continue to improve. All of us are looking forward to training next week at Golden Bear Field."
 
Cal next hosts Loyola Marymount in a nonconference game on Friday at 1 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.