Seniors Brian Perk and Michael Stephens were halfway across the globe for nearly a month.
In that same span, the UCLA men’s soccer team played five matches without them.
Perk and Stephens, arguably the Bruins’ two most important players, were competing for the U.S. national team in the Under-20 World Cup held in Egypt. The Bruins, though, did enough to offset their absence.
UCLA went unbeaten over those five matches, winning four of them and outscoring its opponents 11-4.
Ranked at No. 12 when the talented duo left, the Bruins (6-1-1) have ascended to No. 4 and have not lost in the past month.
The U.S. team, meanwhile, lost two of its three first-round matches and was eliminated from the World Cup. As a result, Perk and Stephens have rejoined the Bruins, though the reunion is not without some degree of disappointment.
“We’re back prematurely,” Perk said. “If I can bring just a little bit of mentality to the team, which was phenomenal while we were gone, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t get better.”
Being in Egypt did not prevent Perk, UCLA’s goalkeeper and vocal leader, from keeping tabs on the team’s progress. Every morning, Perk would wake up and instantly check his phone for scores. And every time he would have a wide smile on his face.
“I’d wake up and see win, win, win,” he said. “It was a great feeling.”
Perk has fellow-senior Kyle Nakazawa to thank.
Nakazawa has been an offensive force while filling the void left by Stephens. The midfielder was named the National Player of the Week by Soccer America after scoring three goals and assisting on another last weekend during UCLA’s road trip to Oregon State and Washington. He was also pegged as the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
Nakazawa leads the Bruins with seven goals and 17 points, both career highs.
According to Perk, Nakazawa’s ability has always been there, but various injuries have hindered his progress.
“It’s great but it’s not unexpected,” Perk said. “He’s a big reason why the team has done so well.”
So well in fact that coach Jorge Salcedo plans on keeping Nakazawa in the spot he undertook at Stephens’ departure. Salcedo said he took a chance by playing Nakazawa at a position he had not played before.
“We’ll find a way to play with both Stephens and Nakazawa at midfield,” Salcedo said. “It’s highly unlikely that we’ll change Kyle’s position. It’s just a matter of making sure that their spacing at midfield is good and they don’t get on top of each other.”
Unlike Perk, who started at goal in every World Cup game, Stephens sat on the bench for the national team. That might also help the Bruins adapt to the transition.
“Michael was gone a few weeks without actually playing in a real game,” Salcedo said. “It’s going to take him a little time but we know he’ll get back to where he was.”
In Perk’s view, the experience both he and Stephens bring is unmatched.
“We shouldn’t lose,” he said.