Free Kick Foils Anteaters' Tourney Run
November 30, 2014 | Men's Soccer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --- UC Irvine's NCAA Tournament run ended at the hands of the No. 11 national seed Providence Friars Sunday evening at Ray Treacy Track and Field Complex by a count of 1-0.
The decisive blow was executed in the 77th minute as the Friars set up for a free kick about 35 yards out. Markus Naglestad lined up just left of the goal and belted a right-footed rocket inside the left post with Anteater keeper Michael Breslin helpless to stop it.
"Credit to Providence. I thought they were well-organized. They scored an incredible free kick and deserved to move on." Head Coach Chris Volk said following the match.
His squad weathered the early pressure from the Big East champions as Providence (15-4-2, 5-2-2) had some quality opportunities, and put up the 9-2 shot advantage in the first half.
Dominik Machado got the blood pumping in the match sifting his way through traffic to chip a ball off the crossbar in the 20th minute.
Towards the end of the half, Julian Gressel cracked one from just outside the box that howled towards the net, but sliced right keeping the match scoreless through 45 minutes.
Both sides found an extra gear returning from the break beginning with a pair of marvelous runs by the Friars. UC Irvine (16-6-3, 4-5-1) responded nicely, however, invading the PC third. A sharp cross found Bryan Breslin in the box who headed it on target, but Friar keeper, Keasel Broome, leapt to get a glove on it forcing it high.
Breslin returned later on with another header as he produced the lone shots on target for UCI. His brother stopped four shots in net while setting the Big West record for minutes played by a keeper in a single-season, however, the defense's effort could not boost the offense's futility.
"We weren't as dangerous as we had been in previous games," Coach Volk added speaking for the offense that registered just eight shots on the match.
UC Irvine's captain, Cameron Iwasa, was hampered by a leg injury suffered early in the match among a few key gashes to the Anteater attack. The senior battled on, but mustered just one shot on the match.
Other seniors stepped up such as Dennis Martinez who also had a pair of shots on the evening, and Mitchell Alvarez, who helped a beleaguered backline and even made a timely run late in the match sending a shot across the face of goal.
"We had our sights set on moving on, getting to the quarterfinals, it was one of our goals. Everything's got to come together in these later rounds. It's the smallest differences that allow teams to advance." Coach Volk's sentiments rang true throughout his team. The disappointing loss was also met with one of the most successful seasons in program history.
UCI played 25 matches, two more than any other Anteater squad in a single season highlighted by Iwasa's 85th career match Sunday night tying him with Amani Walker atop the all-time matches played list.
Breslin ties a personal high with 10 shutouts, second-most in a single-season for a keeper. His 93 saves are the fifth-most in a season for the program, and most since Chris Taylor's 111 saves back in 1992.
It also scored 16 victories on the year, matching the 2011 squad for the program's highest single-season mark. Two of the matches came in the NCAA Tournament, something that's never been done before by the program after reaching the third round for a second consecutive season.
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