“Our performance was just poor from beginning to end.”
Similar to anyone in the coaching business, UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo has learned to deal with losses. But what he cannot deal with is a lack of effort.
So after the No. 7 Bruins’ disappointing 1-0 road loss to the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday, UCLA’s second defeat in a row, Salcedo cited one reason for the Bruins’ most recent shortcoming.
“It’s disappointing because we lacked desire and effort for one of the first times all season,” Salcedo said.
After an outstanding six-week stretch, in which the Bruins (9-3-2) won eight of 10 matches and tied twice, UCLA has been reeling as of late, losing two winnable away contests in the past two weeks, and losing the opportunity to prove themselves as a strong road team heading into the NCAA Tournament.
All of UCLA’s three losses on the season have been on the road. And to further Salcedo’s concerns, the Bruins have been shut out in all three of those contests, two of which were against unranked opponents.
“For those 10 games, we played hard every play and as a team,” Salcedo said after Saturday’s match. “I think we became complacent. We have to make it happen on the field. That’s absolutely what we did not do (Saturday).”
The recent stagnancy in the Bruins’ offense, which carried over from last week’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of No. 21 Stanford, continued on Saturday. UCLA was held to five shots throughout the game’s entirety, only two coming on goal.
The game’s only score came in the 50th minute on a short goal by Bluejay sophomore midfielder Ethan Finlay. In addition to holding the Bruins scoreless, Creighton also outshot UCLA 12-5, not allowing a Bruin shot on goal until the 34th minute.
Salcedo credits the Bruins’ recent offensive woes to a season-long lack of consistency and execution.
“We need to start getting back to what we’ve done a majority of the season,” he said. “We have to help each other and not take plays off. We’ve been very passive these last two games. Our last three halves have been poor in terms of effort and execution.”
Salcedo thought that the Creighton crowd would serve as an important element in Saturday’s match based on past experiences when facing the Bluejays on their home field. But according to the Bruins’ coach, the Creighton spectators had nothing to do with the Bruins’ mediocre outing.
“They are a very respectful and good soccer crowd,” Salcedo said. “That definitely wasn’t a factor. Today was just a poor performance.”
Fortunately for UCLA, the Bruins will finish up the regular season at home with each of their next three games being held at Drake Stadium. All three will serve as conference matches. Everyone else will play catch-up because the Bruins have a commanding lead in the conference standings.
Salcedo made it clear that during these next two weeks, it is pivotal that the Bruins regain their stride, as well as some confidence, considering the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner.
“It’s extremely important that we come out prepared Friday,” Salcedo said. “We’re excited, after losing twice in a row on the road, to get home and get back on the right track.”