Star players to start together for first time

This weekend could mark the emergence of a strong duo for the men’s soccer team.

For the first time in their careers at UCLA, forwards Maxwell Griffin and David Estrada will be starting together on the front line when the Bruins take on local rival Cal State Northridge (3-2-1).

Griffin came out of the gates quickly last year, leading the Bruin offense before going down early in Pac-10 play with a season-ending ACL injury. Estrada moved into the lineup to take Griffin’s place and ended up leading the team in scoring.

This season Estrada started on the bench again for No. 10 UCLA (3-3-1) because of a metatarsal injury, which he has recovered from sooner than initially expected.

“We’ve been switching things around; now with (Estrada) returning it’s gonna be me and (him) up top starting,” Griffin said.

With both players healthy, the decision to start the combination up top is a step into the unknown that coach Jorge Salcedo hopes will pay big dividends.

“They’ve never really played together,” Salcedo said. “(But) today (in practice) they had some good moments together. I think over time they will prove to be a pretty potent duo because both of them can score goals … and be a handful for other teams.”

Estrada steps into an offense that has seen a great deal of mid-game shuffling up top. Due to his resume as a proven goal scorer, his return was a welcome one for his teammates.

“He scored some great goals for us last year and I’m looking forward to him scoring some more this year,” senior defender Greg Folk said. “It’s definitely a good addition to the team.”

The Bruins will pair last season’s scoring leader with this year’s current scoring leader just in time to take on Cal State Northridge, a local rival that has played UCLA very close in recent history.

Last season the teams played to a 1-1 tie in UCLA’s season opener, with Folk scoring in the 25th minute to even the score. Two years ago the game ended without a single goal being scored.

“The past two years we’ve tied both games against them,” Salcedo said. “It’s been a tight (matchup); it’s an important game for both of us.”

The rivalry between the programs is twofold. Not only is it a fight between two schools in close proximity to each other, it is also a game between two sides that know each other outside of collegiate play.

“A lot of us grew up playing in (Premier Development Leagues) over the summer with these guys on the team,” Folk said. “It’s (also) a close rivalry with them right up the 405. It’s for bragging rights of the area.”

After the Bruins’ .500 start against highly ranked teams, Salcedo is confident in his team as it nears conference play. Noting lapses in concentration as the team’s biggest flaw, Salcedo is confident that the tough road matchups the team has endured have made it a better team.

While this road game is only 15 minutes from Westwood, this game represents another similar matchup. However, with Pac-10 play only two games away, the matchups are only becoming more important.

NOTES: After the team’s post-practice huddle Thursday, all of the players serenaded their coach with a round of “Happy Birthday to You” and presented him with cupcakes, catching him off guard.

“I didn’t realize they knew it was my birthday until after (practice),” Salcedo said. … Former Bruin soccer player Jonathan Moore died on Sept. 19, shortly after his 60th birthday. Moore was a Bruin from 1968-1969, leading the team in scoring as a junior. As a senior, his team won 14 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in school history.

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