Oct. 8, 2016
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SAN DIEGO -- In a key showdown of top-20 schools, the No. 13/15 San Diego State men's soccer team suffered a tough 1-0 setback at the hands of No. 19/20 UCLA on Saturday night in front of 1,112 fans atop SDSU Sports Deck.
With the loss, the Aztecs slip to 6-2-3 on the season and 1-1-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Bruins move to 6-3-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
"I am very happy with our group as they played hard and executed the tactics extremely well, said SDSU head coach Lev Kirshner. "UCLA capitalized on a lapse in play and, unfortunately, it cost us three points. In the end, this conference is stacked with quality, and teams are going to take losses. Anyone who watched this game witnessed two of the country's top programs and were thoroughly entertained."
The Scarlet and Black outshot the Bruins 13-10 for the contest, including a 6-4 margin in those directed on net, but was unable to dent the scoreboard. The Aztecs had three opportunities early in the first half, including a blast by senior Michael Sauers in 10th second minute that was deflected by UCLA goalkeeper Kevin Silva. Later in the 16th minute, redshirt senior Travis Nicklaw attempted a header that went high.
Silva also snuffed out an Aztec threat in the 32nd minute with a stop of redshirt junior Dallin Cutler's header, while the Bruins' final attempt of the half by Willie Raygoza sailed over the crossbar with 40 seconds to go.
After intermission, SDSU tried to break the stalemate in the 54th minute, but freshman Daniel Sagno's shot was stymied by Silva, who finished with six saves on the night.
UCLA ended the scoring drought in the 64th minute when Reggie Cannon fed a short give-and-go pass to Jose Hernandez, who found daylight in the top left corner of the net to put the visitors on top.
Eight players finished with at least one shot for SDSU, including Nicklaw, who led all players with four attempts, while Sagno finished with two shots on goal. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Adam Allmaras made three saves in goal for the Aztecs.
San Diego State returns to the pitch next week for a pair of road matches at Stanford (Oct. 13, 7 p.m.) and California (Oct. 16, 2 p.m.). Both games will be aired on Pac-12 Networks.
MAN OF THE MATCH:Goalkeeper Adam Allmaras was tabbed Man of the Match for the third time this season after Saturday's contest with UCLA. The Aztec redshirt junior totaled three saves on the night, including two in the second half of a closely contested match, and has allowed just five goals in the first 11 games of the year.