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Cal goalkeeper Justin Myers leaps over Bruin forward David Estrada during the Bears’ victor

All it takes is one shot.

That’s all Cal needed to secure the Pac-10 men’s soccer title last Sunday.

Although Cal won 4-1, it was the second and go-ahead goal that turned the tide for the Bears.

Cal (12-4-2, 7-2-0 Pac-10) came into Westwood last Sunday knowing that if they could beat UCLA (9-5-3. 4-3-2), they would clinch their first Pac-10 men’s soccer title in school history.

Cal looked strong from the start, with Javier Ayala-Hil scoring the first goal of the game only 11 minutes after kickoff. The Bears were able to fire off 10 shots in the first half alone while simultaneously stifling the Bruin offense, allowing only four shots.

However, coming out in the second half, the Bruins were all over the Bears, finally scoring in the 50th minute from a header by freshman forward David Estrada after a beautiful cross by defender Kiel McClung. The momentum was there; UCLA had tied the game and had put themselves in a position to take the lead.

Then, disaster struck. Ayala-Hil was able to get by McClung and score another goal less than 10 minutes later. From then on, Cal recovered the flair they had displayed in the first half, scoring two more times before game’s end, including another goal by Ayala-Hil to give him a hat trick for the day.

But no matter what the final score was, from Cal’s second goal, it was clear that the game was theirs.

“It went downhill from there,” McClung said. “(That moment) was the swing of the momentum.”

The Bruins had regained all they had lost in the first half, including the enthusiastic noise from the large Drake Stadium crowd, but fell back to earth after Cal recovered.

“I was pleased with the way we started (the second half), and I thought we had the momentum,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “The guys showed some great character for a while and then, unfortunately, we give away a bad goal and the momentum changed.”

The Bruins, before Sunday, had won the Pac-10 four years straight. Although the loss on Sunday does hurt their seeding in the NCAA Tournament, it is not the end of the season by any means.

The Bruins dropped two places from No. 14 to No. 16 in the Soccer America ratings.

The NCAA Tournament invites 48 teams and one of those spots should go to UCLA. At this point, the Bruins are fighting for the privilege of playing one of the games in Westwood.

The Bruins have been robbed of their momentum for the time being, but they have a chance to gain it back this coming weekend against the University of San Diego and San Diego State and go into the tournament in good form.

“We have to find a way to right the ship and turn it around,” Salcedo said. “It sets us back this weekend in the (ratings percentage index). We were seventh in the RPI, which is a telltale sign of where teams are at the end of the year. Obviously, I think we’ll drop quite a bit from that. Next weekend, we’ll need to win a couple games to have an opportunity to host a game.”

In a game where momentum is everything, UCLA has a shot to get it back this weekend and go strong into the NCAA Tournament where anything is possible.

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