CARY, N.C. – UCLA freshman Chase Gasper didn’t just score the overtime goal that gave the Bruins a 3-2 win over Providence College in the College Cup semifinals on Friday night.
He set up his own personal dream final, too.
“It’s actually a dream come true playing against them, because I was committed there originally,” Gasper told reporters following UCLA’s wild win at WakeMed Soccer Park. “It happened that I ended up at UCLA, very happy that I ended up at UCLA, and really looking forward to Sunday’s game.”
An Alexandria, Virginia native, Gasper committed to his home-state Cavaliers in May 2013. However, UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo continued to monitor the outside back after he verbally committed to Virginia, reportedly offering the US Under-20 international a spot in Westwood just before National Signing Day in February 2014.
Gasper, of course, took Salcedo’s offer, heading to UCLA and leaving Virginia in the rear-view mirror. He’ll go up against plenty of familiar faces on Sunday, playing against several former teammates currently on the Cavs’ roster.
“I came from Bethesda-Olney Academy, one of my teammates in the academy was [Virginia] freshman midfielder Jake Rozhansky,” said Gasper. “I went to high school with their No. 10, Nicko Corriveau, played with [Virginia freshman] Jeff Caldwell, Julian Cummings, Steven Gandy and [sophomore] Riggs Lennon. I mean I could probably go through that entire team.”
Gasper and Salcedo wouldn’t elaborate much on why he switched from Virginia to UCLA, with Salcedo actually stepping in and answering a question addressed to Gasper about any potential animosity between him and Virginia.
“No, not at all, there’s not [any animosity],” Salcedo said. “Obviously Virginia, they’ve won six national championships, we’ve won four and they are a great program and have a great tradition. It’s all part of what we do. They try and get the best players they can, and so do we.”
Gasper did answer a follow-up asking for further details on his decision to switch commitments.
“I wanted to win championships,” he said. “So I came to UCLA.”
