San Diego State took a short ride up the highway on Saturday to play the role of the underdog against the No. 10/9/11 UCLA Bruins who were seen as the favorite going into the game. The Aztecs were close to upsetting the ranked UCLA, but came up short in the second period and lost 2-1.

Almost immediately, the Aztecs stunned the opposition with a beautiful steal and assist by senior midfielder Abraham Villon to senior forward Jordan Ongaro who put it in the back of the net, putting his team ahead in the 24th minute.

This goal set the tone for the entire first half: However, one goal wouldn’t prove to be enough after UCLA rallied to score two second-half goals.

With a chance to improve the lead to 2-0, senior midfielder Kody Duff put the pressure on the Bruins with a great shot in the 66th minute that unfortunately sailed a bit high and hit off the crossbar.

Soon after, the Aztecs were granted another opportunity to score when senior midfielder Morgan Sacco missed a one-on-one opportunity, but not even the rebound from that shot would get by the goalkeeper.

The Aztecs have fallen yet again under the high-pressure situations that arise when the scores are close.

This match marks the first loss that SDSU has suffered after leading at the half in their last seven opportunities.

After playing several consecutive matches away from their home field, the Aztecs played the No.1 ranked University of California, Berkeley yesterday, and this Sunday SDSU will play Stanford University at 12 p.m. at the SDSU Sports Deck.

Photo by Jordan Owen, Senior Staff Photographer