Sept. 4, 2011

Box Score | All-AGcess: Postgame Reactions from AlexZeenni

DAVIS, Calif. - With only 30 seconds remaining in overtime, Alex Henry scored with a shot to the lower right corner to send the UC Davis men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over sixth-ranked UCLA on Sunday in front of a sellout crowd at Aggie Soccer Field in Davis.

UC Davis, which defeated UCLA for the first time in program history, improves to 1-1-1 on the year while UCLA drops to 0-2-1.

"Our team executed our tactics perfectly today and I knew that eventually we were going to get one on them," said head coach Dwayne Shaffer. "It's a huge win for our program and it means a lot not only to our players, but to our entire athletics department."

The teams remained scoreless throughout the first half and the UC Davis defense stood strong against five shot attempts from UCLA.

UC Davis struck first, scoring their first goal only two minutes into the start of the second half. Alex Aguiar absorbed a pass from freshman midfielder Eddie Manella, took a few touches, then blasted a shot from just outside the 18 yard box. The shot proved too hard for UCLA goalkeeper Earl Edwards to hold on to as it went through his hands and into the back of the net.

UCLA continued its strong attack and in the 57th minute, Fernando Monge attempted a header shot off a Victor Munoz corner kick, but Aggie goalkeeper Omar Zeenni was there with his third save of the game.

Only six minutes later, UC Davis nearly had their second goal of the game. Eddie Manella took a corner kick at the 63:34 mark which found Ethan Shawlee as he went running into the box. Shawlee's leaping kick hit the crossbar and bounced back into play and UCLA was able to clear the ball.

After only taking one shot in the entire first half, UC Davis put up nine attempts on the Bruins, including a 70th minute attempt by Nick Grigoriev that went wide and a header from Shawlee that went over the top of the goal in the 72nd minute.

The equalizer came for the Bruins in the 86th minute when Kelyn Rowe played a perfect ball through the UC Davis defense to Chandler Hoffman, who took a hard shot into the lower left corner of the goal.

In overtime, UCLA found themselves with still more chances as a shot from Hoffman went wide in the 92nd minute and a follow-up from Eder Arreola two minutes later was blocked by an Aggie defender.

Finally, in the 99th minute, John Joslin saw Henry making a run down the left sideline and passed it to the sophomore. After a few touches, Henry blasted a shot past Edwards and into the lower right corner of the net, giving UC Davis the golden goal victory.

The shot was Henry's only attempt of the game.

Shawlee posted three shots for UC Davis which totaled 12 attempts to UCLA's 16 tries. The Bruins were led offensively by Rowe who had five shots while Hoffman took three shots.

Zeenni made four saves and allowed only one goal in over 99 minutes of action, his second straight overtime match.

UC Davis continues a four-game homestand by hosting Oregon State on Friday, Sept 9 at 2:30 p.m. before a matchup against Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m.