After a month of playing non-conference opponents, the UCLA men’s soccer team is finally opening Pac-10 play this weekend with a pair of games at Drake Stadium.
No. 20 UCLA will take on No. 14 Washington (6-1-1) on Friday and finish up the weekend with a match against Oregon State (5-2-0) on Sunday.
As the two-time defending Pac-10 champions, the Bruins (5-2-1) are certainly not expecting an easy road back to the conference championship.
UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo believes that most of the other Pac-10 teams have gotten off to good starts this season, and all pose a viable threat to the Bruins’ plans for a three-peat.
“We’re excited,” he said. “The Pac-10 is always a challenge in men’s soccer. We all have gotten off to good preseasons, so obviously, the conference is going to be very competitive.”
UCLA intends to build off of its past games this season and start conference play on a high note.
“We feel like our non-conference games have prepared us,” Salcedo said. “We’ve had some ups and downs, but the things we’ve learned from will be good experiences for us, moving into the conference play.”
One of the struggles this team has faced lately has been an inability to maintain a strong defensive effort throughout an entire match.
The Bruins have allowed six goals in the last three games and have not recorded a shutout since their 0-0 draw with Cal Poly two weeks ago.
“They’re correctable mistakes,” Salcedo said. “They aren’t these big flaws that we have within our group. I think if we understand how to do that, we will, and by doing that we will solve some issues we have.”
UCLA to host annual alumni game before Oregon State match
Before the Bruins take on the Beavers this Sunday, they will host their annual alumni game at the North Athletic Field at 10 a.m.
Not only does the morning friendly allow players to loosen up before their game, it is also an opportunity for them to interact with and recognize the past contributions of their predecessors.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Salcedo said. “It’s basically a lot of older guys, maybe a lot of guys that are out of shape, that played here many years ago. It’s a gathering, once a year, for all of the older alumni.”
Bruins not letting record heat affect their game
Even with the temperature reaching record highs this week, the Bruins refused to let the heat slow them down.
After its game on Sunday, the team was back at practice on Tuesday, with an emphasis on its physical training despite the high temperatures.
“We deal with it,” Salcedo said. “In the game against Fullerton on Sunday, it was 100 degrees. The guys fought through the heat and they were fine.”