Reis, Tennyson Save Day for UCLA

UCLA spoiled the Indiana men’s soccer team’s perfect season Friday when freshman forward McKinley Tennyson scored 41 minutes 27 seconds into overtime, giving the Bruins a 1-0 victory in the NCAA tournament semifinals and a berth in Sunday’s championship game.

Tennyson muscled his way to a loose ball in the Indiana penalty area and blasted a shot into the roof of the net, ending the game after more than 131 minutes of scoreless soccer before 18,202 at University of Richmond Stadium.

The teams had played two 15-minute overtime periods without a goal, and 3:33 remained in the first of a possible two sudden-death overtime periods.

UCLA (21-2) advanced to the national-championship game for the fifth time in school history. It will play Virginia, a 3-1 winner over Saint Louis in the other semifinal. Indiana finished the season 23-1.

“Maybe it wasn’t the most beautiful soccer game on our part, but we did what we needed to do to win,” UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid said.

The goal came on a UCLA corner kick, which Bruins junior Josh Keller flicked to the ground with his head. Freshman Ryan Lee took a seven-yard shot that was blocked by Indiana’s Chris Klein on the goal line. McKinley pounced on the rebound.

“We wanted the game to end, so when we got the corner kick, we brought everybody forward,” UCLA midfielder Tom Poltl said. “We didn’t know we would score, but we thought we could get some bounces and maybe a chance.”

With the victory, the Bruins avenged a 4-1 loss to Indiana in the 1994 semifinals.

In that game, UCLA goalkeeper Matt Reis was forced into action as a redshirt freshman and the loss had irked him ever since.

“Today was definitely the other side of the spectrum,” said Reis, who made a school-record-tying 11 saves, including a spectacular one in the second overtime.