UCLA beat Michigan to win the Big Ten Tournament giving them a spot in the NCAA postseason Tournament, however they lost in the first round in penalty kick’s to GCU.
The UCLA men’s soccer team won its first-ever Big Ten Tournament last Sunday when they beat Michigan in the final. Michigan came into the tournament as the 3 seed, while UCLA was seeded 4. They had also previously lost to Michigan 3-0 in the regular season, as well as the Big Ten Semifinal last season in a penalty’s. Additionally, Michigan had not lost a game since facing Maryland on October 10.
However, the Bruins were on a hot streak of their own as they had won the final 5 games of their season, outscoring opponents 21-5. They did not let this discourage them and came out strong. Just 13 minutes into the match, graduate student Konstantinos Geogallides scored the first goal, a diving header. At the 38th minute mark, UCLA scored again, this time off a header from redshirt sophomore Sergi Solan’s Ormo. The forward didn’t stop there, though, and used the momentum to score a second goal just a few minutes into the second half.
Solans Ormo completed his hat trick in the 60th minute, pouncing on a pass from the Michigan goalkeeper. Not even a minute later, Georgallides followed with his second goal of the night, putting the Bruins up 5-0. The rest of the game was a battle, but the score stayed the same, and the Bruins came out on top as the Big Ten Tournament Champions.
Solans Ormo’s hat trick gave him his third of the season, which makes him the only player in the school’s history to total 3 hat-tricks in a season. The accomplishment also set a record for the only hat-trick scored in the Big Ten Final since its inception in 1991, which earned him Player of the Tournament honors. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team alongside teammates Andrer Marticorena and Shakir Nixon.
UCLA winning the Big Ten tournament automatically secured them a bid in the NCAA tournament that started this week. The Bruins’ victory makes this the 5th consecutive time they will be making a postseason appearance in the 7 years under head coach Ryan Jordan. It marks their 50th tournament appearance, and they will be joined by 4 other Big Ten teams in the tournament, including Indiana, Michigan, Maryland and Washington.
Their first game of the tournament took place on Thursday against Grand Canyon University (GCU). UCLA lost 3-1 in penalty kicks after a scoreless match and overtime, with Georgallides being the only Bruin to make his PK. The result knocked the Bruins out of the NCAA tournament in the first round, a devastating loss after the success of the previous week. GCU is now set to face No. 9 the University of San Diego, and the College Cup is set to take place in Cary, North Carolina, on December 12th and 15th.
Taylor Ford
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