PALO ALTO, Calif. -- UCLA closed out its two-game road trip with a 1-1 draw on Sunday night against Stanford at Cagan Stadium. Senior Aaron Simmons scored the only goal of the game for UCLA, his first of the season.
Stanford (8-2-1, 2-1-1 in the Pac-12) opened the game as the aggressors maintaining consistent pressure on the Bruins backline. The pressure resulted in UCLA being outshot by the Cardinal 12-1 in the opening 45 minutes. Despite the plethora of shots coming from Stanford, senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. continued to play well, making four saves to ensure the game entered the half scoreless.
Second-ranked UCLA (6-3-3, 1-1-1 in the Pac-12) started the second half with a much more offensive mindset, pushing additional players into the attacking third. The offensive style change paid off right away with the goal from Simmons in the 49th minute. Brian Iloski earned the assist with an accurate bending cross that seemed to avoid several defenders before finding the foot of Simmons. However, No. 15 Stanford soon answered with a goal from Zach Batteer in the 57th minute to even the score. The senior slipped a hard shot past Edwards Jr. from the left side of the box off of an assist from Corey Baird.
The Bruins continued to push players forward in the second half looking for a winner. Larry Ndjock had the best opportunity to give UCLA the win, but his shot in the 68th minute from point-blank range sailed over the crossbar. Seyi Adekoya made a physical one-on-one play to slide the ball over to Ndjock, but the German native couldn’t find the touch.
Recap, stats, quotes and video from tonight's 1-1 draw with No. 2 UCLA: http://t.co/hIYgyKTSt1 #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/nkrQN2RD26
— StanfordMen'sSoccer (@StanfordMSoccer) October 13, 2014
In extra time, neither team could garner many quality opportunities on net, but Leo Stolz had the best chance for the Bruins one minute into the second overtime. His leaping header was snatched by Cardinal goalkeeper Andrew Epstein denying the UCLA midfielder of the game winner. Nine minutes later the game ended with the Bruins tallying their third draw of the season.
The result gives the Bruins eight consecutive games without a loss against Stanford, a streak spanning four seasons.
In total, UCLA was outshot by Stanford 28-9 and 6-3 in shots on goal. In addition, Austin Meyer and Batteer received yellow cards for Stanford while Nathan Smith and Ndjock earned yellow cards as well.
The Bruins have now moved into a tie with Oregon State for third place in the Pac-12 standings behind Washington and Stanford.
