While most teams transform during the offseason, the UCLA
men’s soccer team has been forced to do so during the
beginning of its season.
The No. 17 Bruins have had to factor in a number of injuries and
setbacks in just the first nine games of their season.
After a slow start, the Bruins responded to the challenge,
reeling off a series of victories over highly ranked teams.
“The first three games were disappointing, with the tie
and two losses, but we came back with four big wins over three
ranked teams and another good team,” sophomore
midfielder/forward Jason Leopoldo said.
But after the past weekend, the Bruins have found themselves in
a completely unfamiliar situation ““ near the bottom of the
Pac-10 standings.
“Obviously the last weekend we didn’t have a good
weekend, starting off Pac-10 the way we did,” senior defender
Kiel McClung said. “I don’t think we’ve started
off Pac-10 that way in a long time.”
UCLA (4-3-2, 0-1-1 Pac-10) started the season on a quest to
capture its fifth consecutive Pac-10 title and will now be forced
to play catch-up in order to find itself back in contention.
Recent games aside, coach Jorge Salcedo puts the Bruins’
record into perspective.
“After the first six games of the season when we were 4-2,
and considering the opponents we’ve had, I was happy because
we got through some very tough stretches,” Salcedo said.
The current UCLA lineup is completely different from the one
anticipated by the third-year coach, after several players have
suffered injuries.
“Last weekend we had five freshmen, three sophomores, one
junior and one senior starting, and on Friday night we might have
six freshmen start,” Salcedo said.
The juggling of the roster has left Salcedo searching again for
the right combination of players to take the field during the rest
of the season ““ a task he had already accomplished prior to
the handful of injuries that left several Bruins sidelined.
“We had a certain group that played the first part of the
season, and we just have to find the next group that’s going
to help us win the second half of the season,” Salcedo
said.
Although the Bruins aren’t pleased with the way they have
performed thus far, the possibility of turning the season around is
very realistic, as UCLA will not face the caliber of competition it
did in the first portion of the season.
“I don’t think we’re ever pleased unless we
have a perfect record,” McClung said. “If our
team’s not 9-0 right now, we’re never
pleased.”
But if the team is to begin a turnaround in Pac-10 play, it will
have to come sooner rather than later. The Bruins feel this weekend
is the time to do so, against No. 4 Washington and Oregon State at
home.
“Two wins would help us a lot in conference play and (we
could) bounce back into the lead,” Leopoldo said.
“It’ll help us out with confidence (and) with rankings
and just put us at the top of the Pac-10.”