I had a great time at the College Cup this weekend. I thought that the game was dominated at every angle by UC Santa Barbara throughout most of the game. In the first few minutes UC Santa Barbara scored off of a nice run down the right wing followed by 1-2 and a cut back to the middle and slotted the ball pass the keeper. The next 40 minutes was all UC Santa Barbra, hitting the post twice and coming close a few other times. UCLA could never find that extra push to put some combinations together to get down the field and get a good shot off. It was also hard as UC Santa Barbara had a solid defense with a strong leader at Center Back, Andy Iro (pictured in blue)
The player on UC Santa Barbara who caused a lot of opportunities for them was a strong (but not quick) striker (Nick Perera). He was always beating the UCLA defenders with his quick soccer mind that was ALWAYS one step ahead of the others and was able to get an influential goal in the 3rd min. He wasn’t alone though he had some support from his two wings and the middle of the pitch. Though UC Santa Barbara had many opportunities, they could never find a way to put one in the back of the net. This was true until early in the second half when UC Santa Barbra had a nice flick from Perera to a wing who got the ball back in the penalty box and Perera laid it off to the side to a wide player who hit a nice strike into the near corner. Perera also had a golden opportunity (which I thought changed the game) when he got behind the UCLA defense and was one-on-one with the keeper, but missed wide. This would have finished off the Bruins.
I was almost certain that UC Santa Barbara had won but late in the second half with about fifteen minutes left in the game a dangerous wing player, Jason Leopoldo, who had been showing great quickness and a threat to the UC Santa Barbara defense the whole game (but never could create opportunities) just ran past the defender got to the endline and placed it in the far corner. UCLA still had life but with the incredible defense that UC Santa Barbara had throughout the game and an outstanding save in the final minutes off of a set piece. The match was a shock when UCLA was coming into the game the favorite! The final score was 2-1 and I congratulate the UC Santa Barbra Gouchos on a fine win.
The above article was contributed by Evan Garrad, who plays for the Pershing Generals and Springfield SC. Thanks Evan, well done!
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