UCLA
Stanford (NCAA Finals)
Men's Soccer Wins National Championship
December 15, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 15, 2002
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DALLAS (AP) - UCLA scored with two minutes left Sunday and again beat Stanford 1-0, this time to win the men's NCAA soccer championship.
Defenseman Aaron Lopez knocked in a free kick from midfielder Ryan Futagaki with one touch into the right corner of the goal in the 89th minute of the NCAA College Cup.
This was the third meeting between UCLA (18-3-3) and Stanford (18-5-2) this season. The Bruins won all three meetings by 1-0 scores.
Most of Sunday's game with played without one team clearly dominating the other.
The championship game closely mirrored their two regular-season matchups between the Bruins and Stanford, when the games weren't decided until the final moments.
In the first game, UCLA won on Jimmy Frazelle's goal in overtime. In the second game, UCLA won on Cliff McKinley's goal in the 77th minute.
Both teams played strong defense Sunday, denying several scoring chances for both the Bruins and the Cardinal.
Futagaki rocketed off a strong shot from 25 yards out in the 31st minute that ricocheted off the left goalpost.
Stanford also had several chances, most notably Taylor Graham's header in the sixth minute of the game.
UCLA coach Tom Fitzgerald knew his team would struggle against the bigger Stanford players.
"Stanford is very dangerous on set pieces and crossing balls. It will be difficult to match up with them due to size, but our athleticism will make up for that," he said Saturday.
Graham almost headed in the corner kick from midfielder Johanes Maliza. At 6-foot-4, Graham had a height advantage over shorter Bruin defenders. Graham's header was knocked down and kicked away by Frazelle, who was guarding the right post.
