Oct. 5, 2013
LOS ANGELES - The San Diego State men's soccer team nearly pulled off a major upset on the road on Saturday afternoon, but couldn't hold on to its second-half lead, as the Aztecs fell to No. 10/9/11 UCLA, 2-1, in a close match at Drake Stadium.
SDSU (3-5, 0-1 Pac-12) came out strong in the conference opener for both teams, and took the lead in the first half, 1-0, after senior forward Jordan Ongaro's goal in the 24th minute. The assist went to senior midfielder Abraham Villon, who came up with a steal and passed to Ongaro on the right side for his third goal of the season.
However, UCLA responded with two second-half goals, including freshman Kevin De La Torre's game-tying goal in the 75th minute, and senior Victor Chavez's game-winning score late in the 88th minute off assists from both junior Leo Stolz and senior Victor Munoz.
San Diego State also had a couple unfortunate breaks in the second half, starting with senior Kody Duff's shot hitting the crossbar in the 66th minute, with the Aztecs still leading by one. Later in the half, senior midfielder Morgan Sacco missed in a one-on-one opportunity and freshman Casey Macias' shot off the rebound was saved by UCLA junior goalkeeper Earl Edwards. Seconds later, UCLA hit SDSU on the counter attack and De La Torre was set up by passes from both freshman Brian Iloski and Chavez to knot the score, 1-1, in the 75th minute.
Senior Blake Wise and Macias each tallied a team-high two shots, while junior Wil Cannon and freshman August Wangberg each played all 90 minutes on the back line for the Aztecs. In addition, senior goalkeeper Blake Hylen recorded four saves.
The loss snaps SDSU's seven-match winning streak in games its led at halftime, and is just the Aztecs' second loss this season when scoring first, as well as following a loss.
San Diego State returns to the pitch on Thursday, Oct. 10, when the Aztecs play host to No. 1/1/2 California. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. PT, at SDSU Sports Deck, and admission is free.
Man of the Match: Senior forward Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) was named Man of the Match on Saturday, as he scored his third goal of the season in the 24th minute to put the Aztecs ahead, 1-0, in the first half against No. 10/9/11 UCLA on Saturday.