Early Goal Costs UCLA Men's Soccer in Home Loss to Oregon State

Conceding a goal in the 14th minute came back to bite the Bruins on Thursday, as their attack couldn't get a shot on goal to tie it up.

The Bruins dropped their first conference matchup of the season after falling short against the visiting Beavers.

An early goal was the difference between No. 14 UCLA men’s soccer (5-3-1, 1-1-1 Pac-12) and Oregon State (4-2-1, 1-0-0 Pac-12) on Thursday night, as the Bruins could not battle back from a 1-0 deficit and fell by the same score. The blue and gold were outshot 11 to 3 during the contest and did not notch a shot on goal during the action.

Sophomore forward Aaron Edwards almost knotted up the action during the 90th minute, but his shot from inside the box was struck too hard and far wide.

Senior forward Constantinos Michaelides and freshman forward Thomas Raimbault were the only other Bruins to record a shot in the match, neither of which threatened to score. Their shots came in the 19th and 89th minutes respectively.

Oregon State grabbed the first and only goal of the night with a tap-in finish from forward Ellis Spikner in the 14th minute. Beavers’ midfielder Mouhameth Thiam sent in a deceiving cross into the box, splitting the Bruins’ defense and meeting the foot of Spikner right in front of the net.

Sophomore goalkeeper Nate Crockford tied a career-high in saves with four on Thursday. Arguably the most vital save of his came in the 69th minute when the Northfield, Illinois, native saved the first attempt on goal and then reacted quickly to make a double save to stop Oregon State from making the score 2-0.

Crockford’s performance was all for naught, however, as the Bruins dropped their first Pac-12 game of 2022. It was also their second home loss of the campaign, the first of which came against Grand Canyon on Sept. 5.

The Bruins will now be largely taking on Pac-12 opponents – despite two non-conference weekend matchups against Loyola Marymount and Rutgers – and will travel for a rematch against Oregon State on Nov. 6.

UCLA will return to action Sunday afternoon to host No. 2 Washington at 4 p.m. The action will be covered on Pac-12 Networks and the match will be played at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZI MELLANO/UCLA ATHLETICS