Bruins Tripped Up at Cal, 2-1
BERKELEY, Calif. – Adrian Guzman found the back of the net with a left-footed strike in the 89th minute to deliver a 2-1 win for California over the No. 22-ranked UCLA men's soccer team on Thursday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.
The Bruins (8-5-0, 3-3-0) led 1-0 midway through the second half, but the Golden Bears (3-8-2, 1-5-0) posted two scores within a 15-minute span at the end of the game to record the win.
UCLA outshot Cal in both halves, ending the game with an 11-8 advantage in that department. Senior keeper Justin Garces made three saves – all in the first half – in his return to the field after a one-game absence.
The Bruins' goal-scoring sequence was started with a nice play from senior forward Kevin Diaz, who megged a defender while on the move on the left side to gain space and make a run towards the center of the pitch in the offensive third.
Diaz then played a ball laterally to just above the penalty arc for Tucker Lepley, who laid a ball down the right side of the box for forward Jose Contell.
From there, Contell sent in a low cross to the back post for Tommy Silva, but a Cal defender instead knocked the ball into the net while trying to clear it out, putting the Bruins up by a goal.
43' | UCLA GOAL!!
Kevin Diaz megs his man to get into the offensive third, and the ball is in the net moments later.
UCLA 1, Cal 0
📺 | Pac-12 Networks
📲 | https://t.co/jMO9HcuY5H#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/QUgWKTNj3r— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 21, 2021
UCLA kept up the pressure in the second half, but Cal was able to equalize on a sharp-angle right-footed curler from Fahmi Ibrahim in the 74th minute.
The game looked like it was heading to overtime until Guzman sniped the top-left corner of the net with under 80 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Bruins return to action on Sunday afternoon, taking on Stanford at 3:00 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.