Ultimately, it may not be enough to win a third straight Pac-12 championship, but the No. 3 UCLA men’s soccer team finally finds itself – if only for the moment – atop the conference standings after securing a 2-1 win over No. 1 California on Sunday afternoon.
Despite jumping two points in front of California with the win, UCLA is still somewhat of a long shot to win the conference because it only has one game remaining – two less than Cal.
Regardless, Sunday’s win was about more than just the standings for the Bruins; it was about leveling the scales of justice after a season marred by moments of misfortune.
“Our guys been through a lot of trials and tribulations this season, and they got their just reward today,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “(Our players) absolutely deserved it, they earned that win today.”
It wasn’t easy, nor was it expected to be. The Bruins (10-3-4, 5-1-3 Pac-12) made the breakthrough on the scoreboard just before halftime, when freshman forward Kevin De La Torre made the most of his first opportunity almost immediately after being subbed in.
“It’s probably the fastest goal I’ve ever scored in my whole career,” De La Torre said. “I scored within like 10 seconds of going in, and it was against the No. 1 team so it meant a lot.”
Junior midfielder Leo Stolz scored the second goal in the 70th minute to give the Bruins a little breathing room, which was immediately killed as the Golden Bears (11-2-2, 5-1-1) scored only a minute later. From then on, it was all about hanging on.
“It was a battle for the last 20 minutes. They pushed an extra guy up top and were going full speed ahead,” said senior defender Joe Sofia. “We played really good defense, stayed behind the ball, made sure we didn’t give up another goal and we got the result.”
Despite the win, UCLA arguably did not play as well as it did in the first meeting against this opponent. That performance had not paid dividends, however, as the Bruins lost the game 3-2. This time, the Bruins were more than happy to trade in a stellar performance for the win.
“We were much better in terms of our soccer the first game at UCLA,” Salcedo said. “We were more dominant in all facets of the game than we were today, but in soccer sometimes it’s more about making the right plays at the right times, and we did that today.”
Sunday’s win – along with Friday’s win against Stanford – not only keeps conference hopes alive, it also puts the Bruins in a favorable situation when it comes to placement in the postseason.
“While we really want to win the Pac-12 … in the big picture the seeding and our RPI are very important to us,” Salcedo said. “(Sunday) puts us in a good spot to have a high seed going into the tournament.”