The UCLA men’s soccer team did not ease its way into the new season as most teams do by playing a couple unranked, lower-tier opponents. Instead, the Bruins stormed their way into the national spotlight this weekend by defeating two top-25 teams on the road in three days.
Granted, the Bruins were already a nationally recognized team before the season started – they were No. 4 in the NSCAA preseason Top 25. But after winning at No. 11 Wake Forest, 3-1, on Friday and at No. 22 North Carolina, 1-0, on Sunday, UCLA quickly proved it was deserving of that high rank, and may even find itself atop the next Top 25 poll, which will be released Tuesday afternoon.
“The trip to North Carolina has helped us reveal where we are as a group,” said coach Jorge Salcedo.
Where the Bruins are now might be ahead of schedule. Last year, it took them until November to reach the No. 1 national ranking. This year, they may reach that rank as early as this week.
In the first two games, UCLA not only showed that it may be at the same level as last year’s team was by the end of the year, but it also revealed some qualities that last year’s highly-ranked team lacked at times.
First quality revealed: increased resolve. In their season-ending NCAA Tournament loss to the Connecticut Huskies last year, the Bruins built an early 2-0 lead in the first 13 minutes, but became complacent, allowing Connecticut to come back and win the game in penalty kicks. After that game, then-junior UCLA midfielder Leo Stolz said the Bruins “stopped playing” after going up 2-0.
In games against Wake Forest (1-1) and North Carolina (1-1) this weekend, the story was different. UCLA jumped out to first-half leads in both contests, but maintained a strong focus throughout. Once the Bruins took their first lead against the Demon Deacons in the 22nd minute on Friday, they would not trail again for the rest of the weekend.
Second quality: resilience. In two of the Bruins’ first six games last year, they fell behind early and failed to even tie those games after that. This year’s team quickly established a new standard, answering an early 1-0 Wake Forest lead with two goals over the next 10 minutes of play on Friday.
Third quality: shutdown defense. After allowing the early goal against Wake Forest, redshirt senior goalie Earl Edwards clamped down, and would not allow another ball pass him for the rest of the weekend. Last year, Edwards and the UCLA defense finished a less-than-remarkable 72nd in the country in goals allowed per game.
“Three consecutive halves of shutouts and four goals on the road is a solid platform to build upon during the early phase while we continue to evolve our style of play,” Salcedo said.
The next step in that evolution will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Lobo Invitational this weekend. There, UCLA will play American University on Friday, and then No. 5 New Mexico, the tournament’s host team, on Sunday.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.