It’s usually not a good sign for the offenses on the field when there are more goals scored by fans in the midfield-shot contest at halftime than there are by players in the actual game.
Such was the case for both No. 1 UCLA and its two opponents this weekend. UCLA’s games against Santa Clara (4-1-1) on Friday and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (4-1-1) on Sunday certainly weren’t short on strong defensive play, but they weren’t without their fair share of disoriented offense, either.
Both contests ended in scoreless ties – the first time the Bruins had been shut out in back-to-back games since October 2009.
From passes that had no recipients to crosses that went out of bounds untouched to countless inside-the-box shots missing the goal, the UCLA offense seemed out of sync all weekend long.
“We (just missed) a little bit (against Cal Poly) and against Santa Clara on Friday,” said sophomore midfielder Felix Vobejda.
That’s not to say that the Bruins (3-1-2) didn’t move the ball well or that they failed to get scoring chances – they outshot their opponents 29-22 over the weekend – they just failed to finish the deal when the cards were in place.
“(Finishing is) something we really need to be concentrating on. We’ve been lacking in that area,” said junior midfielder Jordan Vale.
There were a few explanations for why the Bruins failed to capitalize on their many goal-scoring opportunities over the weekend. After Friday’s game, both head coach Jorge Salcedo and junior forward Larry Ndjock attributed the lack of a UCLA goal to a lack of luck. But by the time the Bruins were shut out for the second straight game on Sunday, different explanations arose.
“Right now, our guys are lacking a little bit of confidence, a little bit of just assurance,” Salcedo said. “Taking a shot or striking the ball and trusting that they’re making the right choices – we’re struggling a little bit with that right now.”
With the offense failing to build an advantage all weekend, the UCLA defense could not afford to slip up, and it didn’t. The Bruins posted two shutout performances to prevent their offensive struggles on the field from translating into losses in the record books.
“I think it’s been great for our group to see how well we can defend,” Salcedo said.
Although the popular adage is that “defense wins championships,” the Bruins know that their ultimate goal of winning an NCAA title this year will not be realized if they can’t find a way to place the ball in the back of the net.
But there’s still time to find a fix.
“The hardest part early on in the season is scoring goals,” Salcedo said. “We just have to get back to feeling like the chances we create that we’re gonna take and convert into goals.”