UCLA Battles to Scoreless Draw at No. 2 Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 14-ranked UCLA men's soccer team battled to a scoreless draw against No. 2 Stanford on Thursday night at Cagan Stadium in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.

The result stretched the Bruins' (3-2-1, 0-0-1) unbeaten streak against the Cardinal (4-0-2, 0-0-1) to three games, dating back to last season.

Sophomore keeper Nate Crockford made a game and season-high four saves to lead UCLA. He was also a strong organizer in the box, helping the Bruins weather a dozen Stanford corner kicks without conceding.

Two of Crockford's biggest moments came in the final 10 minutes of the game.

In the 81st, he clung to his left post but shifted to his right and got his hand on a hard-struck Liam Doyle that was destined for the back post, pushing it towards the opposite corner to set up a UCLA clearance.

In the final 20 seconds of the game, Stanford got forward and looked like it might be able to steal a late winner. However, Crockford came out of his net to cut down the angle on a dangerous Fletcher Bank shot. The rebound came to Stanford's Carlo Agostinelli inside the 18, but his volley at the open net went high over the bar.

UCLA's best chance at scoring came in the 55th minute, as senior winger Constantinos Michaelides played a ball from the left side into the 18 for redshirt senior forward Kevin Diaz, who got past his defender but just missed connecting with the ball on a sliding tap-in attempt.

Junior left back Tommy Silva was credited with both of UCLA's shot attempts for the game.

The Bruins conclude their conference-opening road trip with a game at California on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PT. The Pac-12 Networks will televise that contest, with Joe Castellano on the call.