UCLA and UC Riverside each scored 2-1 victories Friday night in the Season
Opening Men's Soccer Tournament at Cal State Fullerton and the Bruins
and Highlanders will meet Sunday in Westwood to determine the tourney
champion.
UCLA got a nifty goal in the second overtime to beat Oakland University
in the opener and the Highlanders rode a pair of goals by Scott Barnett
to a Big West Conference victory over the host Titans.
Fullerton will host Oakland Sunday at 5 p.m. while UCR and UCLA meet at
3:30 in Westwood.
The Bruins' Benny Feilhaber set up the winning goal by Mike Enfield 3:54
into the second overtime period. Feilhaber got loose with an evasive spin
move, dribbled around two defenders from the left wing and set up Enfield
at point blank range to beat Golden Grizzlies' goaltender Jeff Wiese.
UCLA had taken a 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by Richard Flores.
Oakland tied the match in the 82nd minute when Ryan Rzepka won an air
ball in front of the goal and headed it past UCLA keeper Nate Pena.
Barnett scored his first goal from about 10 yards out off a short cross
from Erasmo Solorzano in the 37th minute. He headed in what proved to
be the game winner in the 60th minute off a short cross from Juan Gutierrez.
Fullerton got close when Taylor Sheldrick converted a goal line rush from
Alfredo Tapia in the 68th minute. The Titans' really had only one serious
threat to tie. With about two minutes to play, Ignacio Cid went a baseline
pass all the way through the goal mouth but found no teammates. Allen
Chote ran the ball down near the corner, sent it back in front of the
goal and Cid's header went directly go UCR goaltender Charles Alamo.
Fullerton lost forward Marco Rodriguez with a knee injury
early in the first half and he is out for at least this weekend.
