The Bruins took the lead in the 87th minute and then conceded two goals before losing to the Blue Devils.

The Bears are not used to playing the role of underdogs on the court.

After all, it is difficult to write a Cinderella story about a project with four national championship titles and countless top recruiting classes. 

Nevertheless, this is still the game that Bruins will play on Sunday, and they continue their unexpected journey in the NCAA tournament, leading the Blue Devils ahead of the national seed.

But, as the story says, when the ball was about to end, the clock struck 12 o'clock.

The UCLA Men's Football Team (11-7-1, 5-4-1 Pac-12) led the 7th seed Duke (14-4-1, 5-2-1 ACC) 1-0 in the 87th minute, But in the end, they lost 2-1 in Durham, North Carolina. A victory will bring the Bruins into their first round of 16 as they made their way to the national championship in 2014.

However, UCLA did not change its destiny, but became the same team throughout the fall, unable to close with Westwood. This season the Bruins held the lead in the second half against Oregon State University, University of Washington, University of California and Stanford University, but lost three of them and tied the other game.

This trend gradually weakened in the regular season finals, winning 4-1 at San Diego State University, but showed an ugly side in the Durham game on Sunday.

Red-shirt junior midfielder Jose Sosa took the lead in the 9th minute to give UCLA the lead. Red-shirts rookie midfielder Tuclepri passed the ball from the penalty area and shot with his right foot inside the left post.

The Bruins attempted 3 more shots in the next 25 minutes. Although none of them hit the target, their offense still exerted considerable pressure. 

Then graduate midfielder Uniso Rokin received the second yellow card of the day in the third of the game, and UCLA's offense fell into a deep sleep. In the last 64 minutes, it only hit one more goal, and even that one missed the goal.

The Blue Devils relied on their manpower advantages to become enthusiastic all the way.

Duke shot again and again, with a total of 28 shots, 12 of which hit the goal. However, the first 10 attempts to hit the target were repelled by a real freshman goalkeeper who shouldn't even be online a few weeks ago.

UCLA led senior goalkeeper Justin Garcis to some victories and zero goals this season. He proved his worth by being selected to the second team of the top 12 in the Pacific. However, Gassis was injured and fell to the ground in a game against Washington on November 4, and sophomore Tyler Kirberg took his place. Koberg scored three goals and the Bruins lost the game, causing coach Ryan Jorden to mess things up the next time he was out.

Freshman Nate Crockford made two saves in the UCLA victory over his opponent at the time. On November 7th, he ranked second at Oregon State University. A week later, he made 8 saves in the UCLA season-end victory over San Diego State University. Crockford participated in the NCAA tournament. This was his third goal in history. He made four saves in Thursday's 2-1 double overtime victory over the University of California, Santa Barbara by the Bears.

After that, the young Crockford played on Sunday and played the most important game of his life until the end.

Crockford recorded all 10 saves made by Duke in the first 85 minutes. The continued pressure from the Blue Devils attack did not shake the freshman, he made the Bruins late.

Then, as time went on, the understaffed UCLA was still some time away from booking a flight to St. Louis next weekend. Crockford and his defensive loopholes began to appear, and Duke raided.

Midfielder Ruben Mesales scored midway through the 87th minute and tied the score to 1-1. After the Blue Devils immediately resumed offense, midfielder Peter Stroud grabbed a rebound in a blocked shot. , To tie the score into a goal. 31 seconds later.

The Bruins never had a real chance in the equaliser, did not attempt a shot in the last few minutes, and when freshman guard Pietro Grassi received a red card in Game 89, he actually knocked out another guy. With nine people on the field, UCLA could not add six shots and one corner kick.

Duke entered Sunday 6-1 in the previous seven home games, while UCLA led 1-3-1 in the same time frame. By convention, the Bruins look like they are going to buck the trend and take the next step, but after getting into trouble again, they will have to pack up and trek back to Westwood.

Jordan still managed to bring UCLA's first playoff victory in five years on the weekend, and he will make further progress again in a year.

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Sam Connon is the publisher and editor-in-chief of All Bruins, working with FanNation and the Sports Illustrated network.