Late Contell Tally Seals 1-0 Win Over Virginia Tech
LOS ANGELES – Redshirt sophomore forward Jose Contell scored in the 81st minute to break a scoreless tie and key No. 20 UCLA to a 1-0 victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
It was the second consecutive one-nil victory for the Bruins (2-0-0) to start the 2022 season. UCLA also held its opponent without a shot on goal for the second straight time, and – counting preseason exhibitions – has now allowed just two attempts on frame total over four games this year.
Freshman midfielder Tarun Karumanchi set up the game-winning sequence, receiving a pass near the center circle following a failed Virginia Tech clearance. With most of VT's players still inside the box, Karumanchi took off through an open midfield, drawing a pair of defenders to him near the 18 before laying off a ball down the left side for junior defender Tommy Silva.
From there, Silva first-timed a cross into the box, and Contell was able to meet it with a left-footed strike right around the penalty spot, rolling it in for the game's lone score.
81' | UCLA GOAL!!!
Jose Contell gets his foot on a Tommy Silva cross and puts it home for the first score of the game.
📺 | Pac-12 Networks
📲 | https://t.co/IJOcZNtDmZ#GoBruins | @contell10 pic.twitter.com/fGmD22hyrj— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) August 29, 2022
UCLA had the majority of possession and scoring chances before and after Contell's goal.
Most notably, the Bruins had a pair of Grade-A opportunities in quick succession midway through the first half. The first chance came via redshirt senior forward Kevin Diaz, who had a goal-bound redirect cleared off the line by a Virginia Tech defender in the 23rd minute. About three minutes later, senior midfielder Riley Ferch played junior forward Andre Ochoa into a breakaway, but the VT keeper stopped Ochoa's chip attempt.
By the final whistle, UCLA doubled up the Hokies (0-2-0) in the shot department, 10-5. None of Virginia Tech's five attempts were on frame. UCLA sophomore keeper Nate Crockford picked up his second consecutive shutout with the result.
UCLA resumes a four-game homestand this week, hosting Liberty on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT. A live stream of that contest will be available through UCLABruins.com.