As the UCLA men’s soccer team prepares for a cross-country flight to Kentucky for Saturday’s showdown with Louisville in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, the team is looking at the past to remind itself that it has been in similar situations before.
Last year, the team’s season abruptly ended at the very same juncture where the Bruins presently find themselves. The 2009 squad fell 2-0 in an away game to Wake Forest in the quarterfinals, and coach Jorge Salcedo’s team faces even stiffer competition this year ““ undefeated and top-seeded Louisville.
“Louisville hasn’t lost a game, but we don’t go in with any fear,” Salcedo said. “We go in with a lot of confidence. We’re going to go in there and try to win the game. We’re not just going to go in there and hope that good things happen; we’re going to try to make things happen.”
Comparisons abound between last year’s more experienced team and the current, more youthful one, but the teams differ in style and defensive prowess.
“This year’s team, I think we’re more goal-dangerous, to be honest,” junior defender Shawn Singh said. “Last year, we kept possession really well, but at the same time, this year when we go, we go with a lot of numbers forward. I’d say defensively, I think we’re stronger as well.”
Much was made of the Bruins’ lack of experience at the beginning of the season, with some suggesting that the team would be more of a work in progress than an immediate national title contender. But with the way UCLA’s multitude of freshmen have stepped in and produced, the team’s potential is being realized much sooner than originally expected.
Midfielder Kelyn Rowe and forwards Victor Chavez and Reed Williams have been particularly impressive in spearheading the Bruins’ potent attack, racking up a combined 20 goals and 17 assists and occupying the top three slots of the team’s scoring chart. Defenders Patrick Matchett and Joe Sofia have been impressive as well, forming half of a reliable back line along with Singh and sophomore transfer Matt Wiet.
“Every year, we put out a very competitive team,” Salcedo said. “Last year, the fact that we got to the quarterfinals, and once again getting to the quarterfinals this year, is a tribute to the team. I feel strongly about this group’s possibilities to continue to go on in the tournament. I don’t think that we’re satisfied just being in the quarterfinals.”
One central focus of the UCLA back line will be containing Louisville’s junior forward Colin Rolfe, who can score and set up his teammates with equal efficiency, leading the Cardinals with seven goals and six assists.
“We’ve played against good forwards before,” Singh said. “It’s just a matter of us keeping him in front of us and really being compact as a defense and covering for one another.”
UCLA has proven that it is a force to be reckoned with on a national scale, but it is never a simple task to take on an undefeated team on the road. The team has plenty of experience with tough road games, defeating Notre Dame 1-0 in Indiana in the first game of the season and besting California in a midseason match on the road by the same score in double overtime.
“We’re really hoping to (come out on top),” Rowe said. “We’ll come out to play, we’re hoping to get the upset, we’re the underdog, we can do that. We play well under pressure, so I feel like if we come out to play, we’ll take it to them. We have a little experience in overtime, pressure and away games.”