USD Knocked Out of Playoffs

The University of San Diego had a shot Sunday, but UCLA had many more. Therefore, it was bound to happen and did, but not until 12 minutes, 41 seconds into the first overtime period.

That is when the UCLA men’s soccer team, which had been hammering away at USD all afternoon, scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory to advance to the NCAA West Region championship next weekend against Southern Methodist University.

USD, the region’s fourth-seeded team, finished its best season 16-3-5. It was the Toreros’ second playoff game. It won its first Nov. 11, 4-2, at Portland.

USD held the lead early, but could not keep it long, nor could it keep up with the speed and depth of UCLA (16-1-4), which is ranked No. 2 in the nation. It was only a matter of time, it seemed, before UCLA put things to rest.

A gutsy performance by the Toreros’ defense, particularly sweeper Trong Nguyen, kept the game’s outcome in doubt until the 103rd minute.

With the score tied 1-1, Joe-Max Moore scored his sixth game-winning goal of the season. It came off a neat touch pass from Cobi Jones, who managed to dribble around and beat defenseman Kevin Arthur near the goal line to the left of the box. Moore’s goal, his 11th of the season, came from about 10 yards out.

“I tried to come out and make him commit to one side,” USD freshman goalie Tom Tate said. “He just hit it to the other side. I got a hand on it but not enough.”

USD Coach Seamus McFadden said the goal was inevitable.

“To me, this is a game where you can only absorb so much pressure,” he said.

And the Bruins did keep up the pressure. UCLA outshot USD, 15-6, including 11-2 in the second half and overtime periods. UCLA also had a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Bruin wing Chris Henderson took as many shots (six) as USD, including an open-net attempt that sailed just over the crossbar with five seconds left. Moore took four shots.

Shortly after the public address announcer informed the paid crowd of 1,548 at North Field that USD was the highest scoring team in the West Region with 59 goals, the Toreros scored their 60th, taking a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the match.

Leo Ronces, a senior from USDHS who led the Toreros in scoring last season with 13, put one in from 10 yards out and off to the left side of the goal.

Setting up the goal, Ronces’ ninth, Tom Crane (Poway High) made a pass in front of the goal that was headed away by UCLA’s Mike Lapper, then tapped to Ronces by Alex Streicek. Crane and Streicek were awarded assists.

Lapper and UCLA came back five minutes later to tie it. Lapper took a pass from Moore 25 yards out and to the right of the goal and looped a shot over Tate’s head.

Lapper, who broke his right leg in July, was playing his first game of the season. UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid had given Lapper, a junior, the option to redshirt, but Lapper wanted to play, citing the Bruins’ chances of winning the national championship this season.

“The decision was Mike’s,” Schmid said. “There’s no way I’d make that decision for a kid like that. . . . His feeling was, ‘Hey, this might be my only chance to win a national championship.’ ”

USD midfielder Phillip Button, a sophomore from The Bishop’s School, had a breakaway opportunity just outside the UCLA penalty box midway through the first half, but Chris Henderson caught him from behind and tackled him. Henderson drew a yellow card for unsportsmanlike play, but perhaps saved a goal.

What goes around comes around, though. USD was whistled for a similar play--Brenden Griffin taking down All-American forward Billy Thompson, who leads the West Region with 17 goals and 41 points--with about a minute left in regulation. When regulation play ended, Schmid came out to midfield to have talk with the officials. He was not pleased that his star player received such treatment without the issuance of a red card.

“I thought that was a red card,” Schmid said. “I thought that’s one of the things that the World Cup had shown us that in soccer they want to cut down on that sort of thing so we get more scoring.”

USD had a couple of chances in the final 18 minutes. Most notably, Ronces got off a clean shot from 20 yards out but that was saved by goalie Brad Friedel.

USD, which is 0-5-2 against UCLA, tied the Bruins earlier this year, 3-3, in San Diego. USD was the only team to score three goals off UCLA and Friedel. In fact, only one other managed two.