Before the season began, the UCLA men’s soccer team set winning a national championship as its ultimate goal.
On Monday, the Bruins (10-4-6) found out what it will take to accomplish that goal, as the 48-team field for the NCAA Tournament was revealed.
Though the Bruins did not receive one of the top-16 seeds, they did obtain a first-round home game ““ a matchup against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this Friday night at Drake Stadium.
Also on the Bruins’ side of the bracket is No. 3 seed St. John’s of New York, No. 6 seed Indiana, No. 11 seed Michigan and No. 14 seed UC Irvine.
The winner of Friday night’s UCLA-Cal Poly game travels to face UC Irvine (14-1-6) on Nov. 25.
SECOND TIME AROUND: In a game held at Drake Stadium earlier this month, the Bruins defeated Cal Poly by a score of 2-1 behind goals from freshman defender Andy Rose and senior forward Maxwell Griffin.
“We’re excited to have a home game and play against a team that we’ve played,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “I think that if we prepare ourselves the right way, we’ll have a good game.”
The Bruins, who extended their streak to 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, go into this postseason playing well.
A strong second half, highlighted by an impressive 8-1-1 record, guided UCLA to its first Pac-10 Championship since 2005. The Bruins capped the bottom half of its 20-game regular season schedule with an eight-game unbeaten streak.
SEEDLESS: The Bruins played remarkably down the stretch, climbing to the No. 11 spot in Soccer America’s rankings. Yet, a down year by Pac-10 competition might have hurt UCLA’s chance of receiving a seed.
“It was up in the air whether or not we would get a (top-16) seed,” Salcedo said. “With 10 wins and four losses and with our strength of schedule, the committee deemed us having a home game the right move in their estimation.”
Despite not receiving a seed or the accompanying first-round bye, Salcedo remains positive about the possibility of playing near Westwood in the next round.
“Our road game, if we get by the first round, is not really a road game,” Salcedo said. “(Irvine) is pretty close to here, and it’s a place where a lot of our guys play their spring games.”
But even if a second-round matchup at nearby Irvine looms in the near future, Salcedo insists that his team’s focus remains on the game this Friday.
“First thing’s first, we have to worry about Cal Poly,” Salcedo said. “Playing them here at home, after just playing them a couple of games ago, will present a tough challenge. They’re a good team.”
Though receiving a seed would have been beneficial, senior midfielder Jason Leopoldo believes that the Bruins have the experience to get them through anything, regardless of seeding.
“It’s not a challenge we haven’t seen,” Leopoldo said. “Two years ago, we went into the quarters against No. 1 Duke and beat them. We’ve beaten No. 1 teams, so (not being seeded) is not going to make a difference for us.”
TOP FOUR: Wake Forest, who beat UCLA 3-0 early in the season, earned the No. 1 overall seed. Another team that defeated UCLA early in the season, Maryland, earned the No. 2 seed. St. John’s, which is a possible third-round matchup for UCLA, and Michigan State earned the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.