It wasn’t too long ago that the UCLA men’s soccer
team faced off against California and Stanford. In fact, the Bruins
posted home victories over the Bay Area schools just last
weekend.
Now the No. 1 Bruins (12-1, 5-0 Pac-10) are looking to continue
riding their wave of success and have the same results this
weekend, but this time on the road.
“It is very difficult to play teams back-to-back like
this,” coach Tom Fitzgerald said. “Usually you have a
few days, or at least a week, before playing a team
again.”
But schedules are set, and only five days after UCLA last took
the field against Stanford, the Bruins will face the Cardinal again
tonight in Palo Alto. On the upside, the Bruins know what their
opponents tried last weekend and will be prepared to try and repeat
both wins.
Last weekend Stanford (2-10-2, 0-5) was down two key defenders,
sophomore Chad Marshall and junior James Twellman. The Bruins took
advantage of this whole, executing a decisive 3-0 victory.
Cal (6-6-2, 2-2-1) put up a fight last Friday and succeeded in
scoring two goals against the Bruins, but UCLA netted two more than
that for a 4-2 victory.
This Sunday, UCLA will have to be prepared for a charged Cal
offense, playing on their own field and now familiar with the UCLA
defensive scheme. The Cardinal, having lost the NCAA College Cup
finals to the Bruins last year and is a perennial postseason
participant, is so victory-starved it will do anything for a
win.
“They’re going to be coming for us, just like
everyone else,” senior forward Cliff McKinley said.
A win for either the Golden Bears or the Cardinal against UCLA
would serve as an undisputed high-point in their respective
seasons. The Bruins will do everything possible to prevent that
from happening.
Although the team’s standing as the defending national
champion almost guarantees it a spot in the NCAA postseason
tournament, a Pac-10 championship will definitely secure the team a
postseason seeding.
“We don’t expect any let down,” Fitzgerald
said. “We’re expecting the same results as last
weekend.”