Oct. 5, 2008
LOS ANGELES -
The San Diego State men's soccer team played UCLA to a 3-3, double-overtime tie Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, despite playing the final 37 minutes a man down and the final 12 minutes two men down.
Freshman Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) was issued a red card at the 73:24 mark before redshirt junior Jamel Wallace (San Diego, Calif./Oceanside HS) received his second yellow card in the 98th minute, giving the Bruins (2-3-5, 0-0-1 Pac-10) a two-man advantage for the final 12 minutes.
The Aztecs (2-5-1, 0-0-1 Pac-10) took a 2-0 lead midway through the first half on back-to-back goals by redshirt junior Matt McManus (Santa Clarita, Calif.). His first tally came at the 30:39 mark, when he pounced on junior Evan Toft's (Aurora, Colo.) original shot and tucked the ball into the net.
McManus added his second goal and third of the season four minutes later in similar fashion. This time, Wallace earned the assist after his original shot bounced off the post into a waiting McManus.
Junior M.A.C. Hermann Award candidate Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo.) almost gave SDSU a three-goal lead heading into halftime intermission when his header in the box in the 43rd minute hit the crossbar.
San Diego State went into the break with a 10-6 lead in shots, including the final seven of the half.
UCLA finally got on the scoreboard at the 59:27 mark after a foul and yellow card by senior Dennis Sanchez (Redmond, Wash.) led to a set piece attempt. On the play, Michael Stephens took a cross on the left side from Jason Leopoldo and Prince Lapnet and shot it into the right corner.
The Bruins tied the game in the 74th minute after a flurry of shots in front of the net eventually led to a penalty kick opportunity. SDSU redshirt sophomore Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.), making his first start of the season, initially stopped David Estrada's attempt. Maxwell Griffin's rebound header found the hands of Steres, resulting in his ejection and subsequent penalty kick goal by Stephens.
Despite playing a man down, however, San Diego State managed to regain the lead at 81:29. Sophomore Michael Rocha (Pasadena, Calif.) got ahead of the Bruin defense on the left side and took a shot that UCLA goalkeeper Trevor Hunter stopped. Once again, the Aztecs pounced on the rebound, and freshman Joe Corona (San Diego, Calif./Sweetwater HS) scored to put San Diego State ahead, 3-2.
Both teams continued to attack in the final minutes. The Bruins nearly tied the score again in the 86th minute when Prince Lapnet drew Byrns out, but his shot missed wide. Toft also had another scoring opportunity for the Aztecs with a shot that hit the crossbar in the 87th minute.
UCLA tied the game, however, in the waning moments when Griffin converted on a cross from Leopoldo with 2:17 left in regulation.
Wallace picked up his second yellow card of the match in the 98th minute, but SDSU came together to still preserve the 3-3 draw on the road.
McManus and Toft had three shots apiece to pace the San Diego State offense, while Cardenas, Corona, Sanchez and sophomore Raymundo Reza had two shot attempts each.
Byrns played all 110 minutes and had five saves in his first game since Oct. 12, 2007.
The Aztecs wrap up their four-game road trip this weekend when they take on Stanford (4:30 p.m. Friday) and California (2:30 p.m. Sunday).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Redshirt junior Matt McManus earned Man of the Match honors after recording two goals in a span of four minutes. McManus tied Toft with a team-high three shots, while playing 73 minutes.