NCAA SOCCER : Santa Clara Upsets UCLA, 2-1, Reaches Quarterfinals

In a game between former NCAA champions, Santa Clara defeated UCLA, 2-1, Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA men’s soccer tournament.

The upset of the second-ranked Bruins came on their home field, courtesy of second-half goals six minutes apart by the Broncos’ Brian Boesiger and Derrick Harris.

UCLA dominated the first half but squandered the chance to take control of the game when, after a foul on Robbie Labelle, Greg Vanney saw his penalty kick stopped by Santa Clara goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who made a diving save to his left.

Santa Clara took the lead in the 62nd minute when Bruin defender Tahj Jakins tried to rob Boesiger of the ball on a breakaway only to see it deflect into his own net over the head of UCLA goalkeeper Chris Snitko.

Six minutes later, Harris beat Snitko with a powerful 20-yard shot to make it 2-0.

The Bruins cut the lead to 2-1 when Kenny Wright fired in a rebound in the 71st minute, but the Broncos held on to win.

“The beauty and frustration of soccer is you don’t have to be the better team to win,” UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Not to take anything away from Santa Clara, but I thought we were the better team today.”

Santa Clara will play Portland in the quarterfinals.

“I’m emotionally drained,” Bronco Coach Mitch Murray said. “Our guys played with great heart. They kept us on our heels and dominated us in the first half. The second half was a much more even game.

“Defensively, with a two-goal lead, I felt confident that we could win. We’ve only given up more than one goal once all year.”