In a roller-coaster affair, the eighth-seeded UCLA men's soccer team lost a heartbreaker to top-seeded Louisville, 5-4, in the NCAA quarterfinals on a snowy Saturday evening in Louisville, KY. The Bruins led 3-1 in the first half, fell behind 4-3 early in the second half, tied the game in the 81st minute and then lost on a goal with less than a minute to play.
Junior midfielder Eder Arreola, who was the Bruins' hero against Dartmouth in the NCAA third round with two goals, continued his goal-scoring streak with the game's first goal at 7:28. Arreola netted his third goal in two games and his fourth of the season after a series of passes from Reed Williams and Kelyn Rowe found him on the left side. Arreola shot from seven yards out, beating Louisville goalkeeper Andrew Boudreaux.
The Bruins made it 2-0 on a free kick goal by Rowe at 17:11. Rowe earned the free kick after being fouled just outside the box, and he buried the kick into the lower left corner for his seventh goal of the year.
Louisville cut UCLA's lead to 2-1 at 28:21 on a free kick of its own. After the Bruins were called for a handball outside the box, Colin Rolfe sent in a free kick that bounced off a Bruin player, popped up into the air and over UCLA goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
Just four minutes later, UCLA regained its two-goal advantage on a goal at 32:50 by Chandler Hoffman. Hoffman got to a loose ball and made a long run down the center of the field and scored his sixth goal of the season to move UCLA ahead 3-1.
Louisville started to build momentum in the 40th minute when it was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box. Brian Rowe guessed right on the kick, going to his right, but was unable to get to Charlie Campbell's shot.
After going into the half down by just one, 3-2, Louisville quickly tied the game Rolfe's second goal of the game at 47:10. The goal came on a header from a free kick. Rolfe nearly got a hat trick in the 51st minute, but Brian Rowe made a one-handed save to put the ball out of play. Rolfe did, however, get his team ahead 4-3 at 55:01, assisting on the Cardinals' go-ahead goal by Nick Deleon.
UCLA had a chance to equalize in the 72nd minute after a corner kick by Kelyn Rowe found Andy Rose in the box. Rose's header was saved point-blank by Boudreaux, and Joe Sofia's follow-up shot from the right side went high.
The Bruins' next scoring chance did not go wasted, however. Sofia found Victor Chavez on a long throw-in, and Chavez netted his 10th goal of the season to equalize at 80:31.
Louisville threatened to score just two minutes later when the ball was sent towards the goal with the Bruin goalkeeper out, but defender Matt Wiet was there to send the ball out of danger.
With less than one minute to play, however, Louisville punched its ticket to its first College Cup with a goal by Aaron Horton at 89:08. Horton dribbled past the Bruin defense and beat Brian Rowe for the game-winner. UCLA continued to fight until the very end, however with Hoffman getting a shot off with 15 seconds, but Boudreaux was there to make the stop. Boudreaux finished the game with five saves. Brian Rowe had seven for the Bruins.
The Bruins end an outstanding season with a 16-5-1 record. The Cardinals move on to the College Cup in Santa Barbara, CA with an 18-0-3 mark. Louisville will face No. 4 seed North Carolina. In the other semifinal, No. 3 Akron faces No. 10 Michigan.
