BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – A season opening doubleheader on the campus of Indiana University saw a quartet of nationall-ranked teams square off.

In the opening match, #10 UCLA defeated #24 Notre Dame, while in the nightcap #30 California beat #20 Indiana 2-1 in overtime.

The late game was the debut for new IU head coach Todd Yeagley, son of the legendary IU mentor Jerry Yeagley. The Hoosiers played well and demonstrated a lot of promise for the season, but in the end it was Kevin Grimes’ Golden Bears who showed the lethal finishing touch needed to win, getting an OT winner from Davis Paul to take a 2-1 victory.

California 2, Indiana 1

The Hoosiers had the first near-miss of the opening half when Andy Adlard hit a cracking shot from 30 yards out that Cal goalkeeper David Bingham had to dive at to push around the post. A.J. Soares then dealt with the resulting corner for Cal.

The next good chance came when Alec Purdie set up Harrison Petts in front of goal, but the freshman midfielder’s drive was tipped over the bar by Bingham, and again the corner came to nothing.

But against the run of play, Cal won a corner kick and scored a goal off the short corner kick. Servando Carrasco redirected the ball into the back of the net after a short pass from Hector Jimenez.

Indiana went back to the attack immediately afterward and continued to pressure the Cal goal, winning a series of free kicks that the Hoosiers couldn’t capitalize on. Some good combination play saw Nikita Kotlov get on the end of a piledriver but it was held by Bingham.

The pressure was looking ominous for the Golden Bears and sure enough, IU equalized in the 36th minute. Will Bruin 1st-timed a shot from the edge of the area with his left foot, sending the ball into the back of the net. The setup came from Petts for a 1-1 scoreline, which the teams took to the break.

In the 2nd half, IU was moving forward. Nikita Kotlov brought the crowd to its feet with a couple of nifty moves inside the Cal penalty area, but his cross was intercepted.

Cal created a chance off the counterattack, Davis Paul chasing down a long pass and getting behind the defense. His pull back pass for Hector Jimenez resulted in a foul just outside the area and a yellow card being issued to IU defender Chris Estridge. On the resulting set piece, Servando Carrasco hit a drive that was blocked by Konstanski in the IU wall.

Cal continued to show it could counter, but IU defender Tommy Meyer in particular was solid in the back, covering a lot of ground and putting in some excellent tackles. IU had two near misses in the 63rd minute. Kotlov set up Estridge for one chance and Petts found the head of Bruin with a corner, but both efforts on goal were off target.

Cal’s Hector Jimenez stole a pass in the IU end and set up John Fitzpatrick for a shot that went just wide of Luis Soffner’s goal. On the other end, Will Bruin’s low shot could only be parried by Bingham, but the Cal goalkeeper did well to smother Kotlov’s follow-up from point-blank range.

The match was played at midfield for a spell after that, until Bruin hit a low drive with 2 minutes remaining in regulation, but Bingham was again up to the challenge and the teams went to overtime at 1-1.

The 1st 10 minutes were uneventful. In the 2nd OT session, Bruin won a free kick just outside the area with 6 minutes remaining. Adlard’s free kick went off the wall and out for a corner. The resulting outswinger was gathered safely by Bingham.

Cal then found the winning goal after a corner kick, with Davis Paul knocking home the close-range finish on a setup from Carrasco in the 17th minute of OT.

Lineups

California
GK: David Bingham
D: Demetrius Omphroy, Steve Birnbaum, A.J. Soares, Scott Van Buskirk
M: Ted Jones, Anthony Avalos, Servando Carrasco, Hector Jimenez
F: Davis Paul, Tony Salciccia
Subs: John Fitzpatrick, Ryan Neil, Chris Ortega

Indiana
GK: Luis Soffner
D: Daniel Kelly, Tommy Meyer, Caleb Konstanski, Chris Estridge
M: Nikita Kotlov, Cameron Jordan, Harrison Petts, Andy Adlard
F: Alec Purdie, Will Bruin
Subs: Kevin Bick, Blake Wise, Joe Tolen, Jacob Bushue

UCLA 1, Notre Dame 0

The Bruins got an improbable opening goal when Ryan Hollingshead chased down a ball on the right from Kelyn Rowe and while off balance, lobbed a ball that went over the keeper and inside the far post from a very tight angle.

The goal was slightly against the run of play as Notre Dame had created a handful of chances before (and then after) the goal, also generating a number of set pieces. Brendan King in particularly was testing UCLA goalkeeper Brian Rowe.

On the other end, freshman Zach Foxhoven came close to scoring with a drive from 10 yards out, but Notre Dame goalkeeper Will Walsh made a quick reflex save. Foxhoven added a lot of zip to the UCLA attack with his running and close control of the ball.

Dillon Powers almost scored for Notre Dame with a picturesque overhead kick, but Rowe pushed the ball around the post. On the resulting corner, UCLA defender Joe Sofia cleared the danger.

After the teams switched sides and Notre Dame got the strong wind at its back, Notre Dame’s Jeb Brovsky unleashed a hard shot from the edge of the area that Rowe had to stretch to keep out. Notre Dame continued to press for an equalizer, aided in part by the strong running off the bench of freshman winger Harry Shipp, but the UCLA back line held its ground relatively well.

With 13 minutes remaining. Notre Dame’s Steven Perry was tripped up for a free kick, but Brovsky’s free kick from 20 yards went just over the bar. A corner with 6 minute sleft brought a volley from Powers that beat Rowe, but was UCLA’s Eder Arreola there to clear the ball off the line and preserve the lead. The Irish didn’t threaten after that and Jorge Salcedo’s Bruins walked off with a season-opening victory.

Lineups

UCLA
GK: Brian Rowe
D: Matt Wiet, Joe Sofia, Reid Hukari, Eder Arreola
M: Kelyn Rowe, Andy Rose, Andrew Tusaazemajia, Shawn Singh
F: Victor Chavez, Ryan Hollingshead
Subs: Dakota Collins, Zack Foxhoven, Michael Roman, Reed Williams, Evan Raynr

Notre Dame
GK: Will Walsh
D:  Bilal Duckett, Aaron Maund, Grant Van De Casteele, Greg Klazura
M: Michael Rose, Chris Sutton, Dillon Powers, Brendan King
F: Jeb Brovsky, Steven Perry
Subs: Harry Shipp, Danny O’Leary, Adam Mena