UCLA SOCCER: BRUINS GET EARLY GOALS TO MOVE ON UCLA ADVANCES AGAINST HARVARD.

Byline: SEAN CEGLINSKY Staff Writer

Turns out the scholars from Harvard can play some soccer. One problem: the Crimson is no UCLA.

Sal Zizzo scored two first- half goals Wednesday as the host Bruins jumped out to an early lead and were relentless thereafter, making sure that Harvard's trip out west was short-lived after a 3-0 NCAA Division I Tournament second-round victory at Drake Stadium.

``Getting an early goal sometimes ends up being the kiss of death, and with Sal getting one early and another late in the first half, that proved to be too much,'' UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said. ``We're playing some of our best soccer right now, and it couldn't come at a better time.''

UCLA (11-5-4) snapped a nine-game winning streak for Harvard (14-5-0) and advanced to Sunday's third-round match at home against the winner of the Clemson/Gardner-Webb match. Those two teams were supposed to play Wednesday, but the match had to be rescheduled for today due to inclement weather.

``UCLA is one of the most athletic teams in the country,'' Harvard coach John Kerr said. ``They're a lot different from the programs we see out on the East Coast.''

The Bruins opened the game with a sense of urgency as Zizzo took a pass from Michael Stephens and beat Crimson keeper Adam Hahn to the far post in the second minute.

The sophomore increased the advantage to 2-0 just before halftime after receiving a corner kick from Mike Zaher in the middle of the box and finding the back of the net in the 40th minute.

``Those two quick goals were mood killers for them, and we had them on their heels for rest of the game,'' Zizzo said.

The Bruins had several quality scoring chances in the second half, and capitalized midway through when David Estrada moved the ball past Crimson defenders and found Chance Meyers down the right sideline.

The Thousand Oaks High graduate controlled the ball and crossed it in the direction of Kyle Nakazawa, who one-timed the ball near post from seven yards for a 3-0 lead.

Harvard entered the match with the top offense in the country, featuring forward Andre Akpan, one of the top freshmen in the nation, and fellow front-liner Charles Altcheck -- the two-time Ivy League player of the year.

The Bruins defense -- anchored by Greg Folk, a Woodland Hills native, and Kiel McClung of Quartz Hill High -- limited the Crimson to twoshots in the first half and eight overall in the game, two of which were on goal.

``I'm very pleased with the way we came out and played tonight,'' Salcedo said. ``If we continue to play like this, we could really cause some teams trouble down the road.''

[e-mail]

[phone]