Jason Leopoldo always dreamed of playing soccer at UCLA.
The dream started when his parents brought him to watch Bruin soccer matches as a child. While sitting in the stands, Leopoldo gazed at the players he most admired, hoping to don the same uniform one day.
Leopoldo, 21, began playing soccer in the American Youth Soccer Organization when he was 4 years old. In AYSO, the uniform numbers increase as the size of the jersey gets bigger. Because he was one of smallest players as youngster, Leopoldo was handed the smallest jersey, with a No. 2 on the back. The number 2 has stuck with him ever since.
The 5-foot-7-inch senior midfielder still matches up against taller competitors.
But what Leopoldo lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and precision.
“Jason has been a very good attacking player for us,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “For his size, Jason is very tenacious and works really hard. He’s a great dribbler and has good technique with both his right foot and his left foot.”
Youth soccer star
At Thousand Oaks High School, Leopoldo led his team to a pair of California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section titles. A strong senior season, in which he scored 15 goals and had 10 assists, earned him numerous local and national accolades ““ the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Gatorade State Player of the Year. He was also tabbed as an All-American by various publications. In the same year, Leopoldo was a member of the Under-18 U.S. National Team that won the Milk Cup in Ireland.
“I used high school soccer to have fun with my teammates,” Leopoldo said. “Playing for a club team is more intense (than high school). But there’s nothing like being a part of the national team. It’s an amazing experience.”
Aside from excelling on the pitch, Leopoldo also worked hard in the classroom, graduating in the top 5 percent of his class. His success both on and off the field garnered the attention of every major soccer program in the country, including UCLA.
“Jason was a top youth player in the country,” Salcedo said. “He was someone that we wanted to bring to UCLA, being from Southern California. His experience and his ability to be an impact on our offense was the reason we wanted to bring him in.”
Even though he was highly recruited, Leopoldo admits his college decision was not a hard one to make.
“There were a couple of teams I was talking to, but in the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to come to UCLA,” Leopoldo said.
Looking for a title
After seeing limited action as a freshman in 2005, Leopoldo burst onto the collegiate soccer scene as a sophomore, starting in all of UCLA’s 24 games and scoring eight goals.
With the contributions of Leopoldo, the Bruins marched into the NCAA tournament looking for the school’s 100th national championship. But before UCLA could play for the title, it would have to get past top-ranked Duke in the quarterfinals.
“Playing against No. 1 Duke is what I remember most (about that season),” Leopoldo said.
It was not a bad game to remember.
UCLA trailed 2-0 early in the first half before tying the match and sending it to extra minutes. Leopoldo played a major role in the come-from-behind effort, scoring a goal and assisting on the game-winner that gave his team the thrilling victory in sudden-death overtime.
After advancing to the championship match with a win against Virginia in the semifinals of the College Cup, the Bruins faced a familiar scenario against UC Santa Barbara. Down by a pair of goals and looking to repeat the magic from the win against Duke, Leopoldo scored to cut the deficit in half. But Leopoldo’s goal would be the only one UCLA could manage.
“Obviously, the goal didn’t mean as much for me because we were trailing 2-0 at the time,” Leopoldo said. “I was just trying to get us back in the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it out.”
Nearly two years following the heartbreaking loss, Salcedo sees Leopoldo as one of his leaders.
“Jason isn’t one of the biggest guys, but he has a ton of heart and he works really hard,” Salcedo said. “I think that as one of our captains, (it is) important to lead through communication, through your actions, and how you show yourself to the guys. Jason has definitely been doing that.”
Now Leopoldo, who has aspirations to play professionally at the next level, looks to do what he and his teammates nearly accomplished in 2006.
“I want a championship,” Leopoldo said. “That’s all I want. There isn’t a night that goes by in which I go to bed not thinking about it.”