Indiana University Athletics
IU Shocks No. 1 UCLA (12-06-03)
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
LOS ANGELES - The No.8-seeded Indiana men's soccer team came from behind to upset the No. 1 UCLA Bruins, 2-1, on Saturday night at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The Hoosiers will advance to the College Cup for the 16th time in school history and will face Santa Clara on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. UCLA closed its season with a 20-2-1 record.
"This was a game that could have gone either way. I guess it was meant for us tonight," Hoosier coach Jerry Yeagley said. "They're a great team. I can't say enough about UCLA. To come out here and beat them on their field, when everybody in the country way saying `this is UCLA's championship, they're going to go to the Final Four; If anyone beats them, it's just an upset, they're lucky.' If you look at the stats and anyone who saw the game tonight, there wasn't just one team on the field. They were two great teams. I just can't believe it."
In an evenly matched battle, Indiana found a way to win. The two teams were nearly even in almost of statistical category. IU totaled 11 shots to the Bruins' 10 and attempted six corner kicks while giving up five.
The Bruins got on the scoreboard first when freshman Chad Barrett rifled a shot from near the 18-yard mark on the right side into the back left side of the goal at the 10:01 mark. Senior Adolfo Gregorio was credited with the assist on the goal.
The Hoosiers did not take long to answer. At the 14:23 mark, IU countered when redshirt freshman John Michael Hayden chipped the ball into the box and it deflected off a defender and bounced into the back right side of the goal. The goal was the first of Hayden's career.
UCLA nearly struck again in the 23rd minute when Gregorio's shot nailed the top right corner of the crossbar.
Sophomore Brian Plotkin lofted a shot just high above the right corner of the goal at 29:15. Hayden (30:42) and Tudela (34:33) both had shots saved by Wells in the first half.
At the half, IU owned a 6 to 5 shot advantage, including a 4 to 2 margin in the shots on goal category.
Tudela rifled a shot from 20 yards out that went just barely outside of the right post in the 59th minute. At the 60:57 mark, Indiana made a run down field. Senior Vijay Dias hit freshman Jacob Peterson near the middle of the field at the top of the 18-yard box. Peterson's shot sailed just wide right.
Indiana broke through and sealed its fourth comeback victory of the season in the 78th minute. Peterson fired a shot from the right side and hit the top right corner of the crossbar. Sophomore Pat Yates rebounded the miss and knocked the ball into the goal, his sixth of the season to give the Hoosiers the final margin of victory.
The Bruins fought and attacked following IU's goal, but the Hoosiers shut down the chances, including a free kick that missed just wide right of the goal with 34 seconds remaining.
Junior goalkeeper Jay Nolly was impressive in goal and finished the match with three saves. Bruin goalie Zach Wells also posted three saves.
IU handed UCLA its first home loss of the season and just the Bruins' second overall loss of the season. The Bruins were unbeaten in their last 19 matches, a stretch that included 18 victories.
After a one-year hiatus from the College Cup, Indiana will return for the 16th time in the 31-year history of the program.
Santa Clara defeated Michigan, 3-1, on Saturday night to advance to the College Cup. Kickoff for Friday's national semifinal will be at either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, St. John's hosts Creighton and Maryland hosts Saint Louis to determine the other semifinal match-up.
"Not too many people gave us a shot out here" Yeagley added. "UCLA deserved to be No. 1. They deserved to be the top seed. They had some people missing and we had some people missing. This was a great game, what championship caliber play should be."
"I thought the first goal tonight would be crucial," Yeagley said. "When you look at both teams, since October, we had given up six goals only (apiece). In these tough matches, the first goal is very important. To come back and get ours quickly, that was big."
"Jacob (Peterson) took a pretty good shot outside the 18 (yard box)," Yates said of the goal. "The keeper got a hand on it, it hit the cross bar and came back out. I was lucky enough to put it in."
"This is the biggest game I've been a part of. I've never been this happy in my life."
