Jose Contell Header Lifts UCLA Men's Soccer to Road Win Over Cal

The Bruins emerged from their Bay Area road trip without a loss, battling back to best the Golden Bears on Sunday night.

No. 25 UCLA men's soccer (4-2-1, 1-0-1 Pac-12) took down Cal (2-2-3, 1-1-0 Pac-12) in Berkeley despite allowing the first goal of the match. It didn't take the Bruins long to erase that deficit, but they were in line for their second consecutive draw for the majority of the second half.

The first half was fast-paced, with UCLA attempting 11 shots and Cal firing off six. Four of the Bruins' shots ended up on net, while the Bears sent three in the direction of sophomore goalkeeper Nate Crockford.

Cal opened the scoring in the 41st minute when Shoei Honda back-heeled the ball into the net off a free kick. UCLA answered just moments before halftime in the 45th, thanks to a corner kick that led to a bouncing header by sophomore defender Aaron Edwards and a sliding goal by redshirt senior forward Kevin Diaz.

45' | UCLA GOAL!!!

Kevin Diaz scores off a corner to equalize just before the halftime whistle.

UCLA 1, California 1
📺 | Pac-12 Networks
📲 | https://t.co/FwXYyGhlWn #GoBruins | @kevvdiaz6 pic.twitter.com/j9iZWb6i4t
— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) September 18, 2022

The teams came back onto the field in the second half with the score tied 1-1 and the pace flipped on its head. The Bruins attempted just three shots while the Bears took two, and each team only got one on goal.

Luckily for UCLA, their one shot on target found the back of the net.

Junior defender Tommy Silva once again lined up for a corner kick in the 76th minute, and his cross sailed right into the box to find redshirt sophomore forward Jose Contell. The low strike made it to the near post, and Contell had to lower his head at a full sprint in order to redirect it past the keeper and into the goal.

76' | UCLA GOAL!!!

The Bruins convert on another corner kick, with Tommy Silva finding Jose Contell at the near post for the go-ahead score.

UCLA 2, California 1
📺 | Pac-12 Networks
📲 | https://t.co/FwXYyGhlWn #GoBruins | @contell10 pic.twitter.com/Ta6kMAOUFR
— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) September 19, 2022

Cal forward Jonathan Estrada attempted one final shot to try and knot the score at 2-2 in the 86th minute, but he missed the mark and the Bruins escaped with the win.

After allowing seven goals in three games to open the month of September, UCLA allowed just one across its first two games of Pac-12 play against Stanford and Cal.

UCLA will return to nonconference play when Cal State Fullerton comes to Westwood on Saturday, then they will resume their conference slate Sept. 29 at home versus Oregon State.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSS TURTELTAUB/UCLA ATHLETICS