The University of California-Santa Barbara won its first NCAA Division I Men's Soccer National Championship on Sunday, defeating UCLA 2-1 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University.
Nick Perera and Eric Avila each scored for the Gauchos, who completed an astonishing run to the title after entering the tournament as an unseeded team with a 12-7-0 record. Jason Leopoldo scored for the Bruins.
UCSB controlled the game from start to finish in below-freezing temperatures, outshooting the four-time champion Bruins 15-11. Six of UCLA's shots came in the final quarter hour.
The Gauchos got on the board just three minutes in, as an unmarked Perera collected a pass from Tyler Rosenlund in the middle of the box and calmly home fired a shot off the post.
Six minutes later, Perera almost had a second, but this time his shot came back off the woodwork. The score actually could have been 3-0 by halftime, but Rosenlund was denied by the post as well in the 27th minute.
The Bruins had a brief spurt of attacking play midway through the period, as Brad Rusin had a header easily saved in the 19th minute and Leopoldo's appeal for what appeared to be a clear penalty was denied by referee Erich Simmons.
UCSB again started brightly in the second half, and in the 61st minute they got the eventual game-winner. The Gauchos charged up the field on a break, and after adidas MLS Player Combine invitee Bryan Byrne played the ball in to Perera, the tall striker laid off a centering pass to a wide-open Avila, who slotted home easily.
The Bruins attack finally came to life with 13 minutes left, as UCSB's Alfonso Motagalvan was called on to block a Mike Zaher shot off the line. A minute later, Leopoldo got the Bruins on the board by squeezing a shot under UCSB 'keeper Kyle Reynish from a tough angle after receiving a pass from Tony Beltran near the end line.
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
