Ranked No. 1 in the country and on a quest to win its second consecutive national championship, the UCLA men’s soccer team clearly has a powerful offense. Just ask the 20 teams who have fallen to the Bruins this season.
But sophomore Evan Corey? The UCLA reserve forward was most likely not a player the Florida International University team spent much time worrying about in preparation for its third-round game of the NCAA tournament against the Bruins on Sunday.
Maybe it should have.
Coming into the game, Corey had yet to score in his two years at UCLA. In yesterday’s second half, however, he netted not one but two goals in a 2-0 UCLA victory over the Golden Panthers.
“At halftime I was put in and I was told to go after the defenders. I knew I was better than them and I was faster than them,” Corey said. “This is probably the best time to score two goals in my college career. I’m really really excited.”
In the first minute back from the half, Corey took a down-the-line pass from senior midfielder Adolfo Gregorio, and crossed to the far post for the goal. Elated, he ran to the Bruin bench where he was mobbed by almost the entire squad. But his day wasn’t over yet.
With a little over five minutes left in the game, Corey took a pass from senior forward Matt Taylor just outside the penalty box and shot what would be his second goal of the day. But this one didn’t go down without a fight.
FIU senior keeper Roy Rosenberg stormed all the way over to the referee on the midfield sideline, adamant that Corey was offsides.
Teary and red-eyed after the game, Rosenberg maintained that Corey’s goal should not have counted.
“The first goal was a really good shot,” he said. “But the second goal was offsides five yards. There was no question it was offsides.”
Rosenberg’s bitterness no doubt stemmed from the fact that this game was one FIU (14-5-3) could have snatched away from UCLA (20-1-1). Even after Corey’s first goal, the Golden Panthers’ defense created a barrier the Bruins had difficulty penetrating all afternoon.
In addition, FIU ended the game with 10 shots, two more than the Bruins. Both teams played very up-tempo, physical soccer. Bruin senior forward Cliff McKinley received a yellow card in the first half and the game ended with a total of 21 fouls.
“It seems like they were defending us, not the other way around,” FIU coach Karl Kremser said. “We were okay getting into the penalty area but that was where it didn’t click.”
“We couldn’t make a shot,” he added.
Junior midfielder Aaron Lopez was injured in the eighth minute of play and has “opened up his MCL,” according to Fitzgerald.
Senior defender Dru Hoshimiya injured his left knee in the second half, but his current status is unknown.
This win advances the Bruins to a quarterfinal contest against Indiana which will be held at Drake Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.