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UCLA Men's Soccer Beats Cal Baptist to Open NCAA Tournament

The Bruins got a game-winner from Kevin Diaz in the 70th minute and will now move on to face Clemson on Sunday.
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The Bruins are second-round bound again.

UCLA men's soccer (11-6-1, 4-4-1 Pac-12) escaped with a 2-1 win over Cal Baptist (11-7-3, 4-3-2 WAC) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium to open the NCAA tournament on Thursday night, with redshirt senior forward Kevin Diaz scoring the game-winner in the 70th minute. The go-ahead goal lifted the Bruins into the second round for the second consecutive season, and it gives them a chance to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2016.

Diaz wasn't the one who initiated the decisive attack, with several other UCLA forwards pinging around passes at the top of the box before getting caught up in traffic.

The ball found its way to Diaz at the 18 off a deflection, and he took one touch to his left before sending a low shot right by the diving keeper for the deciding goal.

Meanwhile, it was actually the Lancers who got on the board first Thursday night.

UCLA was down its star goalkeeper, with sophomore Nate Crockford missing due to an injury. Freshman Sam Joseph drew the start in his place, getting his first taste of game action at the college level.

Joseph was getting peppered from the opening kick, facing shots on goal in the second and seventh minutes. Cal Baptist got a corner kick later in the seventh, which UCLA cleared, but the Lancers sent the ball back in and ended the possession with a five-hole goal on Joseph.

It didn't take long for the Bruins to fire right back with the equalizer – less than 90 seconds later, actually.

Junior forward Andre Ochoa received a pass near midfield and led the attack for the Bruins, before he sent a pass out wide to junior defender Tommy Silva on the left wing. Silva took one touch, then sent a low cross in front of the net.

Slipping behind the last defender, redshirt sophomore forward Jose Contell one-timed it over the keeper's head for the game-tying goal. After sliding to the ground on the finish, Contell got back up and capped off the scoring run with his signature backflip celebration.

Joseph didn't have to make another save for the rest of the first half, with the Bruins' back line holding strong and preventing the Lancers from attempting high-quality shots. Five minutes into the second half, Cal Baptist got a shot on target and then hit the crossbar moments later, but couldn't find the back of the net again.

The Lancers did put together a real chance in the 81st minute, putting a shot on the bottom left corner of the net, only for Joseph to swallow it up.

By the time the final whistle was blown, Cal Baptist outshot UCLA 12-9 and had seven corner kicks to the Bruins' four. Each team had three yellow cards.

No. 6 seed Clemson awaits UCLA in the next round, with that contest set to take place in South Carolina on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Historic Riggs Field.

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(PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS)