It wasn’t clear in the beginning if the men’s soccer team was going to take its usual arc this season.
Under coach Jorge Salcedo, the Bruins (8-6-2, 4-2-1 Pac-10) have normally received a high preseason ranking, opened the season on the road against top-10 competition, struggled, and lost that ranking. Then, around the start of the Pac-10 season, the team starts to gel and makes a run at the Pac-10 championship and the NCAAs. Last year, this trajectory resulted in an appearance in the NCAA championship game.
This year, however, the tribulations went on longer than normal.
The Bruins lost 3-0 against Cal State Northridge, the first time they had lost to CSUN in the program’s history. After a 1-0 rebound win against San Diego, the team opened up Pac-10 play in less-than-stellar fashion, losing 1-0 at San Diego State.
Then came the turnaround.
The Bruins went on a five-game unbeaten streak, including a four-game win streak that vaulted them back into familiar territory at the top of the Pac-10.
“I feel very strongly about what our plan is,” Salcedo said. “And it takes time to become the soccer team that we’ve become. … We’ve had some very good moments on the soccer field, moving the ball, getting the ball out wide, getting in front of goal. It just takes time. … We’ve finally gotten to a point where we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor.”
The energy surrounding the team seems to be completely different at this point in the season than it was in the early going. Players are working better together, and the bounces have started going the Bruins’ way.
“Everyone’s a lot more excited,” midfielder Michael Stephens said. “We have a lot of momentum going. We haven’t been giving much away in the back and that’s been very helpful with keeping zeroes and getting W’s.”
Up front, the Bruins have looked quite different as well. While the team had struggled scoring goals early in the season, the Bruins rattled off 10 goals in four games during their winning streak.
“Everyone’s touch is better,” forward Maxwell Griffin said. “We’re actually finishing goals now. It’s changed a lot.”
Much of that offensive success is a result of the emergence of Griffin.
The forward has recently been the first player brought in off the bench and he leads the team in goals scored for the season with seven.
Griffin’s most important goal of the season so far was his 88th minute game winner against then-No. 16 California that sparked the team’s winning streak.
The team as a whole has also elevated its intensity and level of play.
“We’re on the right path, finally,” defender Mike Zaher said. “We’re all working as a team. We’ve finally come together and realized that just because it says “˜UCLA’ across our chests, the games aren’t going to be given to us. We’ve got to step out there and (play).”
Now, after a weekend of mixed results, the Bruins sit atop the conference, without the luxury of any breathing room. The Bruins have 13 points, while San Diego State is just behind them with 12, after beating Oregon State 2-0 in the Aztec’s only game of the weekend.
After handling business against Oregon State, defeating the Beavers 2-1 Friday night, the Bruins had a relapse of their scoring issues and were unable to battle back from an early one-goal deficit against Washington, falling to the Huskies 1-0. UCLA was able to create many scoring opportunities, tallying 15 shots on the day, but was unable to turn any into the equalizer.
“It was disappointing,” Salcedo said. “We’ve scored goals in bunches the past few weeks, and we’re going to get back to work and find a way back to our winning streak.”
What was most frustrating for the Bruins was that their level of play didn’t seem to take a dip. They outplayed their opponents in nearly every aspect of the game but could not come out with the result they were hoping for.
“I think we played well as a team,” forward David Estrada said. “I don’t really think there is anything we should change. We got unlucky.”
The Bruins are hoping to continue their high level of play and get their luck back with just three games remaining in the season. UCLA plays next weekend at Stanford and Cal, and will host San Diego State at home Nov. 17 in what could be a battle for the Pac-10 crown.