UCLA had history on its side Sunday afternoon as the No. 11 men’s soccer team squared off on the road against Loyola Marymount.
Entering the game with four straight victories against the Lions and an all-time record of 24-2-1, the Bruins did not disappoint.
The team came out aggressively, keeping the Lions on their heels en route to a 1-0 victory as they opened their five-game road trip with their fourth straight win.
UCLA (4-1-1) took 15 shots throughout the game, but needed just one to find its mark in the back of the net to get the win.
Senior midfielder/forward Ryan Hollingshead scored the game’s lone goal in the 54th minute, sneaking the ball past the Lions’ goalkeeper after an assist by senior forward/midfielder Evan Raynr.
“I dropped back as I saw (Raynr) taking his guy and he just cut the ball across perfectly and I literally just stuck my foot out and it hit off my foot and went in,” Hollingshead said. “I barely did anything; it was all (Raynr) getting the ball across and setting me up really, really well. He did all the hard stuff.”
Yet even with the relentless offensive attack, it was the UCLA defense that won them the game. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Earl Edwards returned from an injury that forced him to miss four games, and the Bruin backline gave him very little work, allowing just four shots all game.
Edwards saved all three that were on target. “It was awesome having Earl back. He’s a great keeper and he’s a good leader in the back line. He’s a demanding and controlling force back there and that’s essential to our team,” said junior defender Joe Sofia.
The impressive defensive numbers came, in part, as a result of UCLA’s control of the ball on offense, dwarfing LMU (1-4-1) in time of possession.
“Sometimes you defend when you have the ball, because if the other team doesn’t have the ball then there’s no way they can shoot or can be goal dangerous,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “We probably had (the ball) between 70 and 75 percent (of the game) and we have the ball that much, it’s very difficult for the other team to attack you and create goal scoring opportunities.”
UCLA is no stranger to strong defensive performances like Sunday’s. In fact, the win marked the 12th shutout in its last 17 matches, dating back to last season.
The Bruins will need to emulate those performances going forward, as they face two strong teams in UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this weekend.
“As our confidence grows I think our momentum will definitely carry over into these away games,” Hollingshead said.