It all came together for the UCLA men’s soccer team this
weekend.
In two impressive shutout victories, the No. 9 Bruins handed No.
3 California its first loss of the season with a 2-0 victory and
finished the weekend with another 2-0 win against Stanford on
Sunday.
Playing against undefeated Cal, the Bruins knew they needed to
come out firing. Sophomore defender Marvell Wynne scored his first
collegiate goal in the 40th minute to put UCLA up 1-0.
Although the Bruins played almost the entire rest of the game
with just a one-goal lead, the team was never nervous or
anxious.
“We were very confident in our defense,” Wynne said.
“We know that we can outrun and outmaneuver them, so we were
pretty confident that we would come away with a victory.”
UCLA wasn’t able to cushion its lead until defender Jordan
Harvey kicked in a rebound that came off a shot by Kamani Hill at
89:52.
The greatest challenge UCLA faced against the Golden Bears was
to contain Pac-10 scoring leader and Cal forward Calen Carr.
Although Carr took a team-high four shots, he could never find the
back of the net.
“I think (defender) Brandon Owens did a great job against
him,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo.
“I think most of our guys won their individual battles,
and I think that was the difference in the game.”
Sunday, the Bruins continued their solid team play and improved
their record to 6-2 (2-0 Pac-10) with a win over Stanford.
Defender Jordan Harvey scored from seven yards out in the 34th
minute via assists from sophomore Hill and freshman Sal Zizzo.
Hill was not through helping the team offensively, as he would
later score the Bruin’s second goal at 58:16 with an assist
from midfielder Ramon Manak.
“It was great to score early,” Harvey said.
“Once we scored in the first half we put them on their heels
for the rest of the game.”
Once the Bruins got their first goal under their belts, they
never looked back. Hill scored on a through ball that he shot to
the right side of the goal after breaking free from Cardinal
defenders.
“We did great at moving the ball quickly,” Salcedo
said. “That makes us dangerous offensively.”
However, this weekend the Bruins were very reliant on their
defense to come up with big stops, and they did just that in two
shutout games, making work very easy for Bruin goalie Eric
Reed.
“We really worked hard defensively,” Harvey said.
“We always try our best to keep the zero, and as long as we
do, we’re unstoppable.”
Holding the Cardinal to just two shots the entire game, the
Bruins’ defense was nothing short of spectacular, making it
easy for goalkeeper Reed to record his fifth solo shutout this
season without having to record a single save.
This weekend’s victories have been the result of Bruin
offensive and defensive players working well together. The
defenders worked hard to move the ball around and to give forwards
and midfielders as many touches as possible while wearing down the
opposing defense.
“We won today because we got everyone involved,”
Hill said of the Stanford game. “We have many talented
players who are learning their role and doing their small part for
the good of the whole team.”