UCLA Men's Soccer Ends Season With NCAA Tournament Loss to Vermont
The Bruins could only hold up for so long.
UCLA men's soccer (12-7-1, 4-4-1 Pac-12) fell 3-0 to Vermont (16-3-2, 5-1-1 America East) in the NCAA tournament Round of 16 on Saturday night, ending their postseason run in clean sheet fashion on the road. It was already the furthest the Bruins had gone in the bracket in eight years, but they were ultimately unable to reach their first College Cup since 2014.
The Catamounts' back line proved difficult to penetrate for the Bruins' attack, despite the fact that they had allowed two goals in each of their first two tournament outings. Vermont needed overtime to beat Quinnipiac 3-2 in the opening round, and then upset No. 11 seed SMU by the same score later that weekend.
UCLA was the slightly more efficient offensive team in the first half Saturday, even though the teams went into the break tied 0-0.
The only shot on goal by either team in the opening 45 minutes came from junior forward Andre Ochoa, who forced goalkeeper Nathan Silveira to make a save in the 40th. The Bruins attempted five corner kicks in the first half compared to the Catamounts' three.
Vermont was able to flip the script in the second half, though, as they immediately came out and scored a goal in the 56th minute. Sophomore Nate Crockford made a save in the 68th to prevent the Catamounts from doubling their advantage, only for them to come through with a goal in the 70th.
Redshirt sophomore forward Jose Contell tried to answer with a high shot on frame in the 75th, but Silveira saved it. Contell and Ochoa both picked up yellow cards in the next few minutes, and after Crockford made another couple of saves to try and keep his team in it, Vermont ended it with a goal in the 86th.
The Catamounts outshot the Bruins 10-4 in the second half, with six of their tries ending up on target.
The blue and gold, meanwhile, could not string together a consistently effective attack in Burlington on Saturday night, and their season has come to a close as a result.
While UCLA will now pack its bags and head home to Westwood, Vermont will face either No. 3 seed Syracuse or No. 14 seed Cornell in the national quarterfinals.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @FN_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @FN.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA Olympic sports stories: UCLA Olympic Sports on Sports Illustrated
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC HURD/UCLA ATHLETICS