Nov. 13, 2010
SAN DIEGO - In a game that came to life in the second half, 8th-ranked UCLA fought off a late charge by San Diego State as it defeated the Aztecs, 3-1, on Senior Day at the SDSU Sports Deck Saturday afternoon. With the win the Bruins improved to 14-4-1 (8-2 Pac-10) while the Aztecs ended their season with a record of 10-7-2 (3-6-1 Pac-10).
Little separated the teams in the first 45 minutes although UCLA came away with a 1-0 lead at the break. The Bruin goal came courtesy of a penalty kick by Andy Rose, who put his shot out of the reach of Aztec goalkeeper Brad Byrns to give the visitors the lead in the seventh minute. It was the first goal of the season for Rose, who went to the spot after teammate Reed Williams was brought down in the box.
The penalty was UCLA's lone shot of the first half until the late going as the Aztecs held a 5-2 advantage in goal attempts at halftime.
The Bruins came out on the attack to start the second period. Midfielder Evan Raynr twice put teammates through on goal only to see them fire wide. The pressure eventually paid off, however, as the visitors doubled their lead in the 61st minute on a goal by Chandler Hoffman. The move started with Eder Arreola putting a ball into the box for Victor Chavez, who drew a defender before tapping the ball to Hoffman who fired in from seven yards.
San Diego State got on the board just over 10 minutes later when Mile Byass took a pass from Casey Meusser with his back to goal and played the ball to his right before turning and hitting the ball past Bruin goalie Brian Rowe. It was the fifth goal of the season for Byass.
With a 2-1 lead and the game in the balance, UCLA spurned a couple of good chances before adding a third goal to their tally. Reed Williams picked up a ball in the box and hit a shot toward goal that was blocked. The rebound came back to him and he slotted home from close range to restore the Bruin's two-goal advantage.
San Diego State piled on the pressure in the final 10 minutes and saw shots from Pedro Adan and Jose Altamirano clawed over the bar with leaping save by UCLA's Rowe. The Aztecs also had a penalty awarded them in the 87th minute, but Raymundo Reza's effort was well-saved by Rowe.
The Aztecs finished the contest with 16 shots to a dozen by Bruins. Rowe was credited with seven saves while SDSU's Brad Byrns made three stops.
The contest brought the curtain down on San Diego State's 2010 season that saw it finish in double figure in the win column for the first time since 1994. It also marked the final appearance for five seniors who concluded the SDSU careers. That group included Byrns, Reza, Khadim Diouf, Michael Rocha and Falke Verwer.