CARY, NC—A seemingly destined championship run was brought to a grinding halt in Cary, North Carolina.
Following a thrilling semi-finals victory over Providence, the UCLA Men’s Soccer Team secured a Sunday date with the six-time champion, Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA College Cup Final.
In heartbreaking fashion, a scoreless tie between the Bruins and Cavaliers was decided on penalty kicks, as Virginia secured the national championship by a 4-2 margin.
The Bruins, who had previously beaten Virginia 2-0 in Richmond, struggled to mount a serious offensive threat, as the Cavaliers smothering defense limited UCLA’s aces from getting free runs at the goal.
The Bruins attempted six more shots at goal than the Cavaliers, but in the end Virginia didn’t need a score to secure their seventh NCAA championship.
A UCLA victory would have secured the fifth national title for the men’s soccer program, and a record 113th for the school.
In response to the loss, several Bruins supporters took to the popular anonymous social media app YikYak to add commentary on the match:
“As someone that used to live in Virginia, literally EVERYTHING is better here. You can have this trophy. We already have too many to handle.”
“We’re proud of you homies. The better team didn’t win today.”