When the UCLA men’s soccer team makes the trip to San
Diego today, they will have just one thing in mind: winning two
games on Veterans Day weekend to end the 2005 regular season.
If the No. 6 Bruins (11-3-3, 6-1-2 Pac-10) do so, they will
greatly improve their chances of receiving a higher ranking in the
NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins already received an automatic berth by capturing the
Pac-10 conference title.
Standing in their way tonight is a University of San Diego team
which posts an 8-5-5 record.
Although their record may suggest mediocrity, the Toreros are
coming off a weekend in which they battled for a tie with No. 5
Santa Clara on the road.
With a victory against the Toreros, a team that hasn’t
beaten UCLA since 2001, the Bruins will be eager for their contest
against San Diego State.
Like the Bruins, who have not lost at home during the season
thus far.
The No. 19 Aztecs (9-2-6, 2-2-5 Pac-10) have been this
season’s Cinderella story in the Pac-10 conference and have
proved many of their critics wrong.
Picked to finish last in the Pac-10, San Diego State was
actually in the race to capture the title just one week ago.
Instead, the Bruins claimed the highly sought-after automatic
bid with a 1-1 tie against Cal last Sunday.
Despite capturing the conference title, the Bruins have to still
prove that they are worthy of a high seed in the playoffs.
“We need to win both games,” coach Jorge Salcedo
said. “Although we did clinch the Pac-10, winning two more
games will ensure us a high seed in the tournament and a
possibility of a top-four seed.”
Salcedo has been stressing the importance of playing their best
games this weekend before heading into the playoffs.
His players are all on the same page as Salcedo, feeling a sense
of urgency at the end of the regular season.
“To really get where we need to be ““ in the top four
seeds ““ we have to win out the rest of the season,”
sophomore forward Kamani Hill said. “We have to get these
last two victories.”
The Bruins have done anything and everything that had been asked
of them this week in practice, knowing the impact that their
practices will have on game situations.
“I just think we have to stay focused in practice because
if we keep the level high (in practice), the level stays high in
the games,” Hill said.
The offense of the Bruins will need to support the defense by
getting balls past the Aztecs’ goalie Tally Hall.
The Bruins were unable to score in the teams’ first
meeting this past October, which resulted in a scoreless draw at
Drake Stadium.
“We have to start scoring more goals than we’ve been
scoring,” Hill explained.
“Our defense has been playing well so one goal has been
enough, but if we can start getting that second one, the game
completely opens up and we should be able to pick teams
apart.”
If the Bruins hope to get home field advantage through the first
three rounds of the tournament, a benefit that comes along with
their desired seeding, they will need to pick apart both the
Toreros and Aztecs this weekend.
“A top-four seed in the men’s tournament is
huge,” Salcedo said.
“Obviously us not giving up a goal here at home and us
feeling very confident on our home field, is a huge advantage going
into the playoffs (with a top-four seeding).”