No. 17 San Diego State Men Pull Overtime Upset of Top-Ranked Bruins

Soccer matches between the San Diego State and UCLA men’s soccer teams used to be friendly, contests between friends.

But lately, since SDSU’s program became a national power, they have turned increasingly aggressive--and highly competitive.

That trend continued Wednesday night at the Aztec Bowl in front of 1,094 fans as SDSU won a hard-fought, 3-2 overtime decision over the No. 1-ranked Bruins.

It was UCLA’s first loss of the year and first ever to SDSU in the regular season. SDSU (9-3-1 and ranked 17th by Soccer America) took the lead at 10:00 of the first overtime on Jeff Betts’ second goal, a header off an assist by senior sweeper Marcelo Balboa.

Betts (eight goals, five assists) beat goalkeeper Anton Nistl by sneaking the ball inside the left post.

UCLA (11-1-1) had two golden opportunities to tie it in the second overtime. The second was a wide-open shot missed badly by midfielder George Fernandez with 30 seconds remaining.

UCLA outshot SDSU, 22-11, 5-3 in the two overtime periods. But it could never seem to make the big shot when it needed it.

The game also included an ejection of Aztec assistant Chris Keenan, a game-ending injury to UCLA midfielder Steve Black and several other collisions that left players lying all over the field.

In its 12 previous games, UCLA had allowed a total of two goals, which SDSU matched in the first 22 minutes.

UCLA dominated the once-friendly rivalry until 1987, going 13-1-2. But since then, the Aztecs have gone 1-2-1, including a 2-1 upset of the Bruins in the Far West Regional final in 1987, the year SDSU advanced to the NCAA final.

Last year, UCLA returned the favor, beating SDSU, 2-1, in the first round of the regional.

UCLA sent the game into overtime at 28:00 of the second half when defender Mike Lapper jump-kicked in a pass from midfielder Sam George.

UCLA had cut the lead to 2-1 three minutes into the second half when midfielder Chris Henderson back-heeled a loose ball off the post for his first goal of the season.

The Aztecs did not control the action early, getting off only five shots in the first half to UCLA’s 10, but cashed in on their scoring opportunities.